Something Worth Fighting For
by stkichi
Summary: Korra just wanted to explore, but when she meets Mako and Bolin she gets caught up in their life and their fight for survival in the sometime dark Republic City. A different take on The Legend of Korra. In this story I will be focusing on Pro-Bending and all dangers that lie within the sport.
1. 1: A Different Approach

Something Worth Fighting For

Mako arose slowly from his slumber and looked out the window towards Yue Bay and Air Temple Island. The horizon was still dark, but he knew the sun would soon be coming out from behind the mountains just to the east of Republic City. Yawning and getting the last few kinks out from his neck, he decided to head out to the marketplace and buy some breakfast before Bolin woke up.

He quickly put on his clothes and red scarf and trekked down the stairs towards the pro-bending arena's front office. Entering the office after a simple knock on the door, Mako greeted the receptionist, Kono, and strolled up to in front of her desk.

"Hey, I'm here to pick up our winnings from last night's match."

"Of course dear, and might I say I was quite impressed the way the way that you played last night."

Mako smiled lightly at her, Kono was an elderly woman who always seemed to be in a good mood no matter what was happening around her. She was one of the first people to actually talk to Mako and Bolin after Toza had plucked them from the streets.

Kono got up from her deak and slipped into the door at the back of the office. She came back moments later and handed Mako an envelope.

"Butakha has already taken his 'fair' share from it so there is only about fifty yuans in there," Kono said apologetically.

Mako sighed, "That's alright, money is money I guess…"

"By the way Mako, did you hear about the Avatar making a press conference on the radio yesterday?"

"Yeah, Bolin and I listened to it just before our match actually."

"She sounded so innocent and naive; I hope this city doesn't corrupt her like it does to most people."

"She's the Avatar, I'm sure she'll fair better than most, anyway I'm off to go get some breakfast, have a good day Kono."

"Good-bye dear."

* * *

Bolin awoke to the sweet smell of dumplings coming from the apartment's kitchen. Racing down from the loft as quickly as possible, he was sitting at the table before Mako even had the chance to call him down.

"Dumplings? I thought you said we couldn't afford to eat out Mako."

"I thought that we deserved it after that match last night, after all, we are only one more game away til the championship tournament," Mako said smiling "Also, since when do you care about finances?"

"I dunno know," Bolin said between bites, "Sooo anyways, would you like to hear about the latest in my love life?"

Mako rolled his eyes, "Even though this is the second new development this week, sure why not?"

"I think that I'm in love with the new Avatar!"

"Alright let me stop you before you get too far ahead of yourself; first off, you don't even know her and probably never will. Second off, you didn't even hear her name. And third and finally, you can not be in love with someone you don't even know."

"Ahh come on Mako, don't crush your brother's dream. Besides, you never know we could end up meeting this girl."

"Not gonna happen, Bo. You need to eat up and then start focusing on more important things, like tonight's match for example."

"Her voice sure made her sound beautiful."

Mako sighed. Clearly, Bolin was not giving up without a fight. He decided to just to stop talking about it and walking out the door to go to the gym downstairs, "Meet me in the gym once you're done," he called over his shoulder.

* * *

Korra paced furiously in a circle after another failed attempt at getting through the spinning gates. Tenzin continued to spew out advice about being patient while the three air bender tried to be "helpful".

_Patience my ass, the human body should not be able to contort itself through those gates_. Korra crossed her arms and pouted, putting her frustrated mood even more out into the open. "Tenzin, can I please take a break? We've been at this all morning."

Tenzin stroked his beard thoughtfully, "Very well, kids head inside. I would like a word with Korra." The kids all propelled themselves forward on air scooters and disappeared through some trees. Tenzin knew that they would just hide themselves somewhere nearby and listen anyway, but he didn't have the time to find them and make sure they went back to the temple. He needed to talk to Korra now.

"Tell me something Korra, why do you think that you are struggling?"

Korra's face instantly betrayed the shock that came with that question. _Nobody has ever asked me that. I guess it's because I have never really struggled. Still, it's nice to know someone wants my opinion. If there is any chance that he actually lets me off this island, this is the best shot_.

"I think that I'm struggling because I am so distracted. I've never been to a city before and I think that if you allowed me to explore a little on my own instead of being cooped up all day, then I might be willing to pay more attention during your lessons."

She expected him to go ballistics like he had before, but instead he just sighed. "Korra, if you truly believe that, then I am willing to let you go out off the island as long as you don't cross paths with any gangs or the police again." She immediately hopped up and bear hugged him. "However, if you cause any trouble or don't take training seriously then it is traight back to only being on the island."

"I promise I won't cause any trouble!" Korra yelled as she headed off towards the ferry.

Tenzin just shook his head and headed back towards the temple.

AN: Sorry, very very slow start I know. In my story, which is my first story ever written for this site, I will be focusing almost entirely on the pro bending aspect of The Legend of Korra. The equalists will not have as big as an effect in this story, however I do plan on including Amon/Noatak. For those of you who are wondering about romances/relationships, they will be happening. Definitely more action to come, thank you and enjoy.


	2. 2: The Meeting Of Fate

Mako was furious. Actually, furious did not quite cut it. He was so mad that he could feel his blood boiling and he was sure that the vein in his forehead was about to pop. Hasook refused to even meet his glare, long resigned to the fact that he and Mako would never see eye to eye.

Mako let out an exasperated sigh and decided to try one more time, "Hasook, I am the team captain. I make all the tough calls, I decide what our plays are, and I get to say if you are not working hard enough in practice."

Hasook turned towards him with a face of indifference, "You know what I'm done, you always say you're such a fair captain, but I've never heard you get on Bolin's case," he said while gesturing towards a very nervous looking Bolin.

Bolin got in between the two and weakly squeaked out, "Guys, it's only practice. Perhaps, we should all just take a breather…"

Mako simply pushed Bolin out of the way and hissed out, "That's because Bolin actually listens to instructions, unlike somebody. And you know what, if you can't take that then why don't you just leave?"

"Fine Mako, good luck finding a new waterbender before tonight's match," and with that Hasook grabbed his bag and stomped out of the practice gym.

Bolin rose up from his seat once he left and was about to break the tension filled silence before Mako put up a hand to stop him, "Stop, I don't want to hear it Bolin. I'm going out for a walk."

"What about tonight's ma-"

Mako had already stormed out before Bolin could finish his thought.

"Greeeat…" Bolin turned around and went back to practicing.

* * *

"For the last time missy, you ain't gettin in with no ticket."

Korra's frustration only continued to grow with this pudgy balding man behind the ticket counter. "Come on, there won't even be a match til later tonight. Can't I just take a look around?" She asked with a pout.

"No, now please just move along."

Korra just grunted and stalked off with her hands balled into fists at her sides. _You can't do anything in this city without money. I should have asked Tenzin for some_. She finished her thought just as someone brushed against her shoulder.

He turned to look at her just long enough to breath out, "Sorry."

Something about that boy seemed vaguely familiar to Korra. _Where have I seen that face before? Hmmmm, oh I know, the newspaper today. He was a member of the Fire Ferrets._ She had listened to their match the night before and then saw a picture of the team in the newspaper this morning. _Perfect, all I have to do is to tell him I'm the Avatar then he'll take me into the arena_. Korra strutted towards the dock he had settled at, the confidence that her plan would work clearly evident with that boastful smirk she was wearing.

"Excuse me," He didn't even turn towards her, "Hey, you!" Korra said grabbing his shoulder.

"What do you want?" He asked as he turned towards her.

Korra was immediately stunned into silence by his two shimmering nearly golden eyes. And currently those eyes portrayed a quite mad looking scowl; clearly he was in no mood to talk. However, Korra was never one to be deterred.

"Well I saw your picture in the newspaper today and I was just wondering-"

"I'm sorry I don't have time for any fan girls." He abruptly cut her off.

"What? Oh, uhhh, no I'm no fan girl. Here, let me start over: I'm Korra, what's your name?"

"Mako, now unless you have something important to tell me, please just leave me alone."

_Ok, this guy might be a little hard to get through to, but I still have my trump card_. She smiled at him and tried again, "Well, today is your lucky day. I know you are a member of the Fire Ferrets and I just happen to be the Avatar."

She had expected him to start praising Agni himself for how lucky he was for getting to meet the Avatar, but instead he just kept the same stoic expression as before.

"I should care, why?"

"Well, because I'm the uh Avatar you know," she said quite flabbergasted.

"Listen, I'm sure that you being the Avatar means a lot to you, but I could really care less. The only thing I care about is that you're interrupting my alone time."

Korra was absolutely stunned. It was like he suddenly grew a second head. Nobody had ever talked to her like that. She tried several times to rebuttal, but just didn't know what to say to that comment. Luckily something stopped her before she made an even bigger fool of herself.

"HEY MAKO!" Another boy yelled while running towards the two. He had green eyes and was shorter and bulkier than Mako.

"What's up Bolin?"

Bolin put a finger up to signify that he needed time to get his breath, "Nothing I just saw you harassing this poor girl and I figured she needed some rescuing from you." He said while flashing a grin towards Korra.

Mako simply scoffed while Korra held her hand out and greeted this new boy, "I'm Korra."

"Bolin, Mako's much more attractive and nicer younger brother."

Korra let out a short giggle. Immediately, she felt comfortable around Bolin. _I bet he could get me into that arena_.

"I was just telling your brother that I'm the Avatar." Korra boasted.

Bolin's jaw would've hit the floor if it weren't attached to the rest of his face. Korra's smirk only grew as she crossed her arms smugly. Mako just shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. _Of course Bolin would be impressed_, Mako thought.

"That's perfect!" Bolin exclaimed. Mako and Korra both turning towards him with equally confused looks.

Mako was the first to recover, "Why is this perfect?"

"Think about it Mako, Hasook just left the team and we need a new waterbender. Now the gods have bestowed us with the most powerful bender on the planet!"

_At least Bolin gives me the respect that the Avatar deserves._ Korra then slyly grinned up to Mako, "Well, it seems as if your short a team member and I just happen to be willing to join your team."

Mako muttered something under his breath away from the other two and then turned back, "Fine, you can join, our next match is tonight. Bolin you're in charge of getting her up to speed." With that, he walked past both of them into the arena.

Bolin walked up to Korra and put an arm around her shoulder. He began to lead her towards the arena and started explaining the basics of pro-bending, but Korra's mind was somewhere else. _He didn't even care that I was the Avatar…_

AN: Another chapter without action, haha sorry once again. I promise you there will be some next chapter. Until then, thank you and enjoy this chapter. Also, thank you to those who take the time to read my story. Edit: I have changed both chapters to make it more clear when the scene changes, sorry to those who were confused by that. Now it will be more clear.


	3. 3: The Pacifist's Victory

Mako sat with his head buried deep in his hands. Bolin was "attempting" to show Korra how to perform proper waterbending techniques to be used during a pro-bending match. Mako had no idea how his earthbending was supposed to translate to her waterbending, but by the way Bolin was handling things, it basically meant him touching her a whole bunch to show her "proper form". Mako silently chuckled to himself, Bolin was of course using every single flirting technique that he knew of. Mako couldn't blame his brother though, Korra was quite an attractive girl, with those deep blue eyes and what most would describe as amazing features. Of course, Mako would never deliberately ogle anyone; he had too much respect for himself as a gentleman to do something like that.

"Excellent form again Korra," Bolin complimented her once again which brought Mako out of his thoughts. Mako could only sigh and thought hopelessly, _So the hopes of us getting into the tournament, rest in the hands of an untrained rookie…_

Deciding that this had to stop, he got up from the bench and walked up to Korra and Bolin in the center of the gym. "Bolin, take a seat. It's my turn to show Korra some pointers. Head upstairs and get ready for the match."

"Alright, fine bro. Korra, I will see you later tonight at the match." He walked out of the gym with a smile and a wave.

Mako slowly turned to Korra, "Listen Korra, I just wanted to apologize for the way I treated you early, I was just frustrated. I am not trying to be a bad guy, I just really want to win. And since you're on the team I guess that means we have to work together to win."

"Well according to your brother, I am coming along quite well. And since I am the Avatar, I'm sure this will be a breeze," Korra said with a cocky grin.

"Hmmm, well no offense, but Bolin's training doesn't exactly qualify you as ready for a pro-bending match."

"Oh really? Well I think I'm ready. Plus, nobody is going to be ready to go up against the Avatar."

Mako simply rolled his eyes. "Ok Korra, I'll make you a deal. We'll face off in a duel using pro-bending rules. If you win, we can stop practicing, but if I win then you stay and actually listen to my instruction."

"Ha you're on."

"Alright, before you get too far of yourself, go put on some training gear, and remember, only waterbending."

* * *

Mako and Korra stood facing each other at opposite ends of the make shift pro-bending arena they made out of the practice gym. The rules were simple: the first one to get knocked out of the chalk drawn ring lost.

"Ok, Korra. We start on three: one… two… three."

As soon as the word "three" left Mako's mouth Korra was immediately on the attack. She fired two quick streams of water in rapid succession aimed right at Mako's chest in an attempt to catch him off guard. However, Mako was no amateur when it came to fighting. He ducked out of the way and caught the surprised look that Korra flashed afterwards. The momentary lapse didn't last long though as she brought her right hand forward shooting another blast at his now crouched body. Mako rolled forward under the water and sprung up a foot in front of Korra's half of the field. She brought her hands up in defense of the fire that was sure to come. It never came though.

This infuriated Korra to no end, "What? Afraid I can't defend myself?" she growled out.

He simply smiled and calmly replied, "No, I just wanted to see if I could beat you using only one fireblast."

Korra's rage only increased after that comment. Her palms began to smoke and she looked ready to explode.

"Tsk tsk, Korra. Only waterbending, remember?"

"ARRRGHHH fine!" She started to spin her arms in a circular motion. Each time one of her arms came forward another stream of water shaped like a spike careened forwards to Mako. She had aimed each one at different heights to prevent him from jumping or ducking to avoid them. As the first of the water spikes came towards him, Mako simply spun away from it to his left. Korra changed her angle and began firing once again. He spun away from these blasts just as easily as before. She continued to fire continuously for another ten seconds without managing a single hit against him. She had to pause and put her hands on her knees to recover her breath. He still did not fire at her though.

"Giving up already, oh mighty Avatar?"

Instead of using any energy responding, Korra just gritted her teeth. _If I could just land one hit, I'm sure I could knock him out_.

She raised her hands into a fighting pose and just waited. She wanted to observe Mako and see if there was any sort of weakness she could exploit.

He had his fists raised as well and was bouncing back and forth on his toes waiting for Korra to come at him with an attack. She just couldn't find anything.

He stopped bouncing and lowered his hands, "Fine Korra, go ahead, I'll give you one free hit."

"You know what, I'll take you up on that offer." _I hate that he's giving me this, but I'll make him pay for that overconfidence._

Korra gathered up some water, twirled it around her and then sent it bursting towards Mako with as much force as her exhausted body could manage. The jet stream hit him square in his chest, but it once again didn't yield the results that Korra was hoping for. He took the attack, stumbled back a mere three feet, and managed to stay on his feet.

Mako smirked, Korra simply sighed and raised her hands again. She managed to pull off a feeble water whip, but it didn't even come close to making contact. Korra had nothing else left and couldn't manage an attack. She put up a weak water shield in preparation for the final blow from Mako. Once again, it never came.

He just walked over the field and put a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't we just call it there? We still have two hours until the match, take a fifteen minute break and then meet me back here, I'll show you how to actually play in a pro-bending match."

"Ok….. sounds good…. and uh …. thanks for not knocking me out." She managed to say between breaths. Korra decided it wasn't worth it trying to go sit down so she just collapsed in the middle of the gym.

"No problem Korra." He said smiling downs to her as she smiled up him from the floor.

* * *

AN: So, that was the first action scene in my story. I'd be interested to hear what you guys thought of it. Constructive criticism is always welcome. I'm also interested in increasing the chapter length, but I'll keep it at the current word length if you guys want. Let me know how you feel. As always thank you to those who take the time to read and/or review my story. Thank you and enjoy.


	4. 4: Again?

"Alright, let's see the best knockout move you have Korra."

Korra gathered water from two basins on either side of her and formed them into a giant sphere in front of her. She quickly shot her arms forward which propelled the water towards the practice dummy on the other side of the gym. The dummy shook violently back and forth until settling in place several seconds later.

"That was good, but you're still overexerting yourself. If you use that move during a match you're going to run out of energy just like during our practice fight."

"Well, what do you suggest then, captain…" Korra drawled out sarcastically.

Mako chose to ignore her sarcasm, "Maybe you could try not using your arms so much."

Korra just rolled her eyes, "Waterbending is based almost entirely on arm movements, of course you would know so much about it, being a firebender."

She was starting to get on his nerves, "Listen Korra, I understand that you were trained with traditional bending techniques, but unless you learn to start using more modern styles you won't last long in this sport."

"Why are you the authority on pro-bending, after all, you are apart of a rookie team."

"I have been around the sport for much longer than you, I have studied it for hours and practice nearly every day of the week," Mako seethed out through clenched teeth.

Korra couldn't come up with a retort for that, she had only been in Republic City for a week and the only experience she had with the sport was listening to it on the radio. "Fine, just tell me what to do."

"Assume your fighting stance."

Korra raised her fists and widened her stance.

"Raise your arms more, it'll help you absorb any hits better."

Korra did as she was told and put her fists in front of her face.

"Spread your feet apart so that they are not on the same level. If they're equal you'll be too easy to knock off balance."

Korra put her left foot slightly behind the other and stood at more of an angle.

"Now I want you to pull of a four hit combo. Slide your left forward and then punch with your left hand, then your right hand, finally follow up with your right foot. First practice the move without bending."

Korra raised her eyebrow in confusion, "How does working without bending help me train for the match?"

"You need to get the timing down before incorporating water. Now start practicing the move, I want you to mesmerize the timing and the movements. When you're too tired to think this is the move that you turn to."

Korra went through the move once and looked up at Mako. "Was that good?"

Mako kept his arms crossed and his face in a stoic expression, "Again."

"Again?"

"Yes Korra, again."

Korra did the move once more and looked towards Mako again. He shook his head as a sign for her to practice the move again.

She practiced the move for another fifteen minutes before Mako finally stopped her.

"Again, but for this time, every movement with your fist or foot send a stream of water towards the dummy. Make sure you don't send too big of a blast otherwise you'll tire yourself out. Use short controlled bursts."

Korra smiled, she finally got to actually bend. _Mako's training is getting to be a lot like Tenzin's_, she thought to herself.

She practiced the move with bending for another twenty minutes before Mako put a hand up to stop her.

"Not bad, Korra."

"Not bad? I think that I did a little better than not bad," Korra said with an exasperated sigh.

"I don't give out compliments too easily, replicate your success during a match and then we'll talk."

Korra stuck her tongue out towards him.

"Very mature Korra. Now take a break and go get ready for the match."

* * *

Korra sat on the bench in the locker room staring down at her pro-bending helmet. She looked up with bright eyes to the packed pro-bending arena. Everyone was buzzing with anticipation, awaiting the impending match between the Fire Ferrets and the Golden Temple Tigerdillos.

There was a knock on the door and an official stuck his head in, "Two minutes, Fire Ferrets."

Korra looked around at her teammates, Mako was leaning against a wall with his head down in deep thought. She thought she saw him mouthing out words like he was praying, but decided to leave him alone. Bolin was leaning out of the room and was looking towards the crowds of people, every so often waving and blowing kisses.

Mako finished whatever he was doing and sauntered towards where Bolin was standing. He tapped Bolin on the shoulder and gestured towards the bench Korra was sitting on.

Mako cleared his throat which brought her out of her musings and she slid her helmet on. "Team gather round," he said in an authoritative tone. "I know we haven't been together for long, but I truly believe that this team could do something special. This is the last game before the championship. If we win, then we get in the tournament. Now let's get out there and give it our all."

Bolin walked onto the platform and Korra began to follow him until Mako put a hand on her shoulder.

"Wait up Korra, I wanted to give you some last minute advice. I want you to remember everything I taught you, stay focused, and don't try something stupid."

Korra frowned, "Thanks for that vote of confidence Mako."

His eyes softened, "I'm sorry Korra, getting into this tournament just means a lot to me and Bolin."

"It means a lot to me too, you know. Why do you need this so badly?"

Mako just ignored her and walked onto the platform alongside Bolin. _What is wrong with this guy?_

She slowly walked next to Mako and stood on his left. The platform started moving and she finally saw the true enormity of the arena. Korra swallowed a nervous breath and mentally prepared herself. _I'll show Mako how good I can be_.

* * *

AN: Long overdue update, I am very sorry for that. I am going to try to update at least once every two days. Nothing much to say about this chapter, the long awaited match is coming next. Thank you to those who review/read my story, thank you and enjoy.


	5. 5: Sticking to the Plan

Korra stared up at the bright lights illuminating the near golden arena. She saw thousands of nameless faces all cheering and holding up posters. She felt overwhelmed, this was the most people she had seen in her entire life.

The lights all dimmed and the center of the playing field started to raise with an announcer atop. All the lights focused on him and the stadium grew deathly quiet. Both teams stepped onto the field and the lights immediately shined on the team opposite Korra and the two brothers.

"On the blue side of the field we have the Golden Temple Tigerdillos: Mizu the waterbender, Goro the earthbender, and their team captain and firebender, Kaji." The arena erupted into applause at the end of the introductions.

The lights then turned their focus on the Fire Ferrets, "On the red side of the field we have the rookie Fire Ferrets: Bolin the earthbender, Mako their team captain and firebender, and the newcomer to this already very young team, Korra the waterbender."

The lights flashed again and the entire arena was showered in light once more. The announcer walked off toward the official's area and was replaced by a referee in the middle of the field. Both teams approached him and got into position. "Alright teams, we are playing by official pro-bending rules."

The official pointed towards the Fire Ferrets, "Fire Ferrets, are you ready?"

"Yes!" All three members echoed.

He then pointed towards the Tigerdillos, "Tigerdillos, are you ready?"

A resounding "yes" came from the other team.

"Await the bell and then begin the match."

Korra exhaled the breath she didn't realize she was holding. _This is it, the moment that I've been waiting for._ She raised her fists and awaited the sound of the bell.

"This is Shiro Shinobi coming to you live from the pro-bending arena in Republic City. We are just moments away from the beginning of this highly touted match. Everyone here seems to buzzing with excitement over the Fire Ferrets' new waterbender. Not much is known about this young girl, so we will just have to wait and see if the fabulous bending brothers have found another diamond in the rough or if she'll just flounder like so many have in this highly competitive sport." A deafening "_ding"_ was heard throughout the stadium. "And we are under way here folks."

All the Tigerdillos' eyes immediately honed onto Korra. Before she knew what happened, an earth disc, water stream, and fire blast all came careening towards her. She put up a water shield and attempted to deflect the attacks, but it was too late. Korra took the full force of all three attacks and was slammed backwards into the side ropes. She ricocheted off the ropes and went down on one knee with her back facing the rest of the field. Before long, she felt an icy blast on her back and she went flying through the air. She suddenly felt very weightless and was surrounded by water. _Well, that lasted long,_ she thought as she swam towards the platform with the elevator.

* * *

Mako looked back to see Korra flying off the field. He looked back towards the Tigerdillos, each one wearing a smirk. Those smirks quickly disappeared as they looked at the fiery expression that Mako's face was portraying. Bolin brought up two discs, but Mako beat him to the punch. He fired off two shots that knocked the earthbender and firebender back to zone two. He then turned his attention towards the waterbender. He fired off a stream of fire which took the Tigerdillo by surprise. He was able to douse the first part of the stream, his success didn't last long though as the flames hit him square in the chest and was sent into the water below.

_"Tweeeeet"_ The referee's whistle stopped the action. "Foul on the Fire Ferret's firebender. No constant fire streams. Move back one zone."

Mako did as he was told and moved back one zone and waited for the other team's waterbender to climb back into the arena. _It was well worth it, _he thought with a small smile.

"Teams, when the bell rings there will be fifty more seconds in round one." Both teams nodded in acknowledgement of the official.

_"DING!" _Bolin sprung into action and fired two quick earth discs towards the waterbender who had taken his place back in blue team's zone one. The waterbender was prepared though and dodged out of the way of both discs. The Tigerdillos responded with a fire blast and water stream aimed at Bolin. He brought up two earth discs in self defense and the fire and water collided with the discs. The resulting explosion forced Bolin back to zone three, teetering between the water and the playing field.

The middle green light in the water canal lit and the Tigerdillos advanced into Fire Ferrets' territory.

Play resumed and Mako dipped and dodged, trying his best to avoid the three pronged attack that was coming his way. He took a quick glance over his shoulder and saw that Bolin had been knocked down into the water during the last assault. Mako readied a fire blast and aimed at the waterbender- _"DING!"_

"This round goes to the Golden Temple Tigerdillos, but the match still isn't over folks."

Mako slid his helmet and walked over to the edge of the field to await the platform that carried the rest of his team back to the playing field.

"Alright team, gather round." Korra and Bolin came to him and they formed a huddle. "First off, Korra, I'm sorry about what happened. I didn't realize that this team would pull such a dirty tactic and focus entirely on you. Now then, get that last round out of your mind guys, let's go out there and win this thing."

"Don't worry Korra, I'll win this next round all by myself." Bolin said with a muscle and wink towards Korra.

She giggled and Mako rolled his eyes, "Bolin, focus."

* * *

_"DING!"_

Mako and Korra quickly jumped back into defensive stances. Bolin seemed to have nothing but showing off on his mind. He shot three quick, poorly aimed earth discs at each of the member of the other team. They easily dodged the discs and countered with each bender shooting their respective element at Bolin. He was left off balance due to his poor offensive strategy and the three attacks hit him simultaneously in the chest. Bolin soared off the arena and made an emphatic _"splash" _in the water below.

Mako shook his head, once again he was missing a team member no more than thirty seconds into the round. The Tigerdillos stayed on the offensive for the rest of the round, never allowing Korra or Mako to attack back. By the time the second round ended Korra and Mako had been pushed all the way back to their third zone, they would have been knocked off had it not been for the bell signaling the end of the round.

Mako spun on his feet and stomped to the end of the field where Bolin had just arrived.

"What the hell was that Bolin! We stick to the plan! Now we need a knockout or we are screwed!"

Bolin responded with a passive wave of his hand, "Don't worry so much Mako, we can still win. And I don't think that your plan is working, we need to get on the offensive and hit them quickly."

Before Mako could say anything, Korra interjected, "I think I have to go with Bolin on this one, we have hardly hit them at all and we're sitting here bruised and battered."

Mako just growled in frustration, "Fine guys, do whatever you want. Have fun getting knocked out."

Mako took his position between his two very stubborn teammates and awaited the next round.

* * *

"Ladies and gentleman, it is not looking good for the Fire Ferrets. They need a knockout this round otherwise they can kiss their miracle season goodbye. And they appear to be in no condition to work together as team, I have seen more cooperation between a group of wild cobra-lions. The Tigerdillos, on the other hand, appear to be firing on all cylinders. The third round is just about to start here…"

_"DING!"_

Korra and Bolin launched water and earth discs towards the opposing team. Their attacks were unfocused and uncoordinated, so they were easily diverted away by the Tigerdillos. They wasted no time in returning the attack back to Korra and Bolin. Out of position and caught completely off balance, both Korra and Bolin were thwacked into the water below.

All eyes in the stadium turned to Mako, including the opponents' eyes. They sent a volley of fire, earth discs, and water straight at him. He jumped back to avoid the fire and water, but the disc hit him in the chest and thumped him back to zone two.

The green light went on and the Tigerdillos advanced into Fire Ferrets' territory. Play resumed and once again the opposing team fired consecutive blasts one after the other at Mako. He ran from one side of the field to the other. In order to avoid one fire blast, he had to jump back into zone three. The other team advanced and Mako raised his fists and starting bouncing back and forth on his heels.

"It is not looking good for the Fire Ferrets. It all comes down to Mako, whom despite being quite talented, is facing very slim odds."

Mako looked over his shoulder and saw Bolin and Korra both gripping the railing in the locker room nervously. Mako turned his attention back to the match and awaited the final assault. _It's now or never Mako._ He released his breath and allowed a slight smile to grace his face.

"With only one minute remaining in the final round, the chances that Mako wins this are decreasing by the second."

The waterbender bombarded him first, aiming a jet stream at Mako's right. He side stepped the water and jumped above the quickly approaching earth disc. The fire came next, but Mako easily somersaulted away. Mako got to his feet and waited for the next storm of elements. The water, discs, and fire all came, but with much less vigor or force behind them. Mako smirked, _now it's my turn._

"With only thirty seconds left, it would appear as if the Tigerdillos have this match in the bag. But wait, what's this? The Tigerdillos seem to be out of enegy, yet Mako is still bursting with life. He fires two quick shots at Mizu. And oh he falls all the way into the drink. Mako's next target is Kaji, a swift flame kick knocks him down below and Mako now has his sights turned on the Goro, who is looking awfully nervous."

Goro seemed to have the most left in the tank out of all the Tigerdillos. For every fire ball Mako sent at him, he was able to counter with and earth disc. However, he too began to succumb to Mako's fiery attacks. Goro was pushed back all the to the blue zone three, a thick cloud of dust separating him and the ever-advancing Mako. Goro fired an earth disc through the dust, just before Mako burst through and hit him right in his gut with a powerful fire ball.

"And down goes Goro! What an amazing comeback! In all my years, I have never seen such an impressive individual performance! The Fire Ferrets have won in the match of the century, this is Shiro Shinobi, signing off."

* * *

Korra was absolutely awestruck, Bolin was shaking her arm trying to scream to get her attention, but he was drowned out by the deafening cheers raining down upon Mako in the center of the field.

Bolin managed to drag her onto the platform to greet their teammate and as soon as they reached the field, Bolin ran up and gave Mako a huge platypus-bear hug. He set him down and Korra approached the two brothers.

"Wow, Mako, that was… incredible." Korra's eyes beamed with admiration up at Mako.

"Thanks, maybe next time you'll listen to me?" Mako asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, hehe," she said while sheepishly rubbing the back of her head, "sorry about that."

"Me too, Mako." Bolin agreed and patted Korra on the shoulder.

She smiled to the two brothers, "So, what now?"

Bolin turned towards her with a cheeky grin, "Now, we celebrate!"

* * *

AN: Wow, that was fun to write actually. I really enjoy writing action scenes and I hope that is reflected in this chapter. Also, in case anyone was confused, anytime there is random dialogue in the middle of the match, that is the announcer talking, I tried to make that as clear as possible. However, if that format confuses you, just let me know and I will change it and make it more clear in later chapters. As always, thank you to all those who review/read and please enjoy this chapter.


	6. 6: Discoveries and Shoulder Rides

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Legend of Korra.**

"Sooo Bolin, tell me what exactly does this celebrating entail?" Korra asked while taking off her helmet in the team's locker room.

Bolin, frustrated by his inability to fit his helmet into his bag, momentarily gave up on his efforts and faced Korra, "Well Korra, for tonight's schedule, I have planned one event and one event only. And that is…. to celebrate til dawn!"

Korra couldn't help but laugh, "Ok , any plans on what we'll be doing until dawn?"

Bolin put a finger to his chin and pondered this for a moment, "Ummm… nope. Of course this whole plan comes to a halt if Mako decides to be a stick in the mud like normal."

Mako finished zipping his bag and spun towards them, "For once Bolin, I actually have no problem with celebrating. The tournament doesn't start for another two weeks so we'll have plenty of time to practice between now and then. Unless Korra has to be somewhere, I wouldn't want to get her in trouble."

Korra though about this for all of a second before grinning ear to ear and responded with a deafening "Definitely!"

Bolin clapped his hands together, "Great! Korra, we'll meet you in front of the arena after we hit the showers."

Korra stood up and followed the boys out the door heading in the direction of the girls' showers.

* * *

Korra felt at peace surrounded by her natural element. She ran her hands through her thick locks taking all the shampoo out with them. _I probably shouldn't be going out tonight, after all I never told Tenzin what time I would be back. Oh well, I'm sure Bolin didn't mean that we are actually staying out until dawn. We'll probably just go to dinner and then call it a night. Bolin and Mako must have a family that they have to get back to as well._

Realizing that she was getting lost in her thoughts and had lost track of time, she shut off the water in the shower and put a towel around herself. She got dressed in her typical dark blue pants and sky blue tank top and wrapped her animal pelt around her waist. After slipping on her boots, she ran out of the showers and rushed to the front of the arena.

As she approached the two brothers, she could already tell they had been waiting for quite a while based on the bored expressions that they each wore. "Hey guys, sorry about taking so long."

Bolin brought his gaze up to hers, "It's ok Korra. Now then, let the night begin."

Bolin put an arm around her shoulder and started to lead her away from the arena. She looked back to see Mako with his hands stuffed in pockets trailing a few feet behind them. She also stole a quick glance towards the clock on Aang Memorial Island. _7:30… Yeah I got plenty of time. Tenzin did say he wanted me to explore my distractions anyway._

"So you figure out where we are headed to yet, Bolin?"

Bolin's smile only grew as he continued to lead her down the street, "Well, I can tell you that we are first getting some dinner, but I can't tell you which one yet."

"Ok Bolin, sounds good. I'm starving." Korra replied while rubbing her belly and looking back at Mako again. _Bolin was right, Mako does seem to be a real stick in the mud._

They continued to walk through the brightly lit streets of Republic City, every so often turning left and right and continuing along their path.

* * *

Bolin finally settled on a restaurant in the middle of the market district. The bright sign outside read "Shu Jing".

Mako sighed, _leave it to Bolin to pick a restaurant that we really can't afford._ He checked his wallet, 140 yuans. He had been trying to save the money, just in case they couldn't get into the tournament, but seeing as how they had just won tonight, he decided it would be alright to splurge. _Bolin deserves it anyway, we haven't been out to eat in forever. _

He ducked through the door and caught up with Korra and Bolin, whom was giving their name to the server out front.

"I can seat you three right away, come with me please." All three followed and slid into the booth, Bolin making sure to sit next to Korra.

The server gave all three menus and walked off back to the front of the restaurant.

Seeing that he would have to start the conversation, Bolin cleared his throat, "You know Korra, this place serves authentic Water Tribe food."

"Oh, um that's…. great." The way she trailed off perplexed Bolin.

"What, do you not like Water Tribe food?" Bolin questioned, his voice dripping with concern.

Korra just lightly chuckled, "Oh no, it's not that I don't like the food, its just… I really wanted to try something new. I mean, I have been eating it all my life."

Bolin rubbed the back of his neck, "Oh right, sorry I forgot."

Mako slowly closed his eyes and tuned the rest of the conversation out. He looked around the restaurant, taking in the sights. It was pretty darkly lit, which typically meant it was a place for romantics. _Of course Bolin. He's just met the girl and he is already trying to make a move._

Before long a waiter came by to take their order.

Mako was the first to speak, "I'll take the komodo dragon sprinkled with fire flakes."

Korra next, "I'll have the same."

Bolin finished, "I'll have the traditionally made sea prunes."

They handed the menus back to waiter who walked off to the kitchen.

Mako shifted his focus to Korra, "Are you sure you can handle that meal Korra? It's pretty spicy."

Korra sported a pout before replying, "What, don't think I can handle it?"

"No, I know you can't handle it."

"Ha, you just wait. I'll show you that I can handle it."

"Don't say I didn't warn you." _God, this girl won't back down from anything. She's gonna regret this. Oh well, might as well have some fun with her. _He signaled down a waiter and asked for another two cups of water.

A few moments later the waiter came back with the food and the extra water for Mako. Bolin ravenously chomped on his sea prunes, Mako slowly began eating his komodo dragon while watching Korra from the corner of his eye. Korra was poking the meat around her plate with her chopsticks, clearly stalling for time.

"Well Korra, are you gonna eat your food?" Mako said, trying to prod her into his trap.

Korra, being as stubborn as a moose-lion, retorted quickly, "Actually, I was going to add more fire flakes." She took some of the flakes directly off Mako's plate and sprinkled them over her meal while sticking her tongue out towards him.

"Mature as always Korra. Now then, take a bite."

Korra broke a piece of meat and painstakingly raised it to her lips. She swiftly slipped it between her lips and quickly swallowed it.

"See, I told you I could do it." The tears forming in her eyes instantly contradicting what she just said.

She wiped her eyes but not before Mako saw her struggles, "I guess you're right Korra. I was gonna give you this extra glass of water, but seeing as how you can handle the spices I guess I'll drink it."

He slowly rose the glass to his lips and let the liquid drip down into his mouth and down his throat. Korra watched with her mouth slightly agape, trying to blink back any tears that were attempting to glisten.

She couldn't take it anymore, she lunged across the table and grabbed the glass just before Mako could take another sip. Both Mako and Bolin burst into laughter. After downing that glass, Mako handed her the second one and within seconds all the water disappeared.

She panted over the rest of her meal and pushed it to Mako, "Here, I lost my appetite."

Mako stopped laughing, "Oh well, sorry Korra. You can order something else if you'd like."

She smiled at his kind offer, "No, it's ok. I'll be fine. I guess I've got to learn my own limitations." She lightly snickered and looked for another waiter to ask for more water.

* * *

Soon after that incident, they all finished their meal and the waiter came by and dropped the check off.

Korra looked around nervously, and Bolin twiddled his thumbs and looked anywhere but the check.

Mako just sighed and laughed lightly, "Don't worry about it guys, I'll cover for it." He left enough money for the bill and a more than generous tip. They all left the restaurant soon after with everyone in much higher spirits. Korra noticed that even Mako seemed to be happier, even if it was at her expense, it made her feel better to see him happy. _It doesn't hurt that he has a really cute smile either,_ she thought with a smile.

Bolin slowed his pace to get in stride with her, "Thus is where the real fun starts Korra, we are gonna go see the true nightlife of Republic City."

Bolin led them down a street and Korra saw that there was definitely something different about this street. There were huge groups of people, most of them stumbling or sitting down in puddle.

"You're over sixteen right, Korra?"

Bolin's question caught her off guard, "Uh yeah, I'm seventeen. Why do you ask?"

"Oh well… uh the legal drinking age is sixteen." He said with a nervous chuckle.

"Drinking? As in alcohol?"

Bolin cracked up once again, "Of course it does. Is that ok?"

Korra smiled brightly, "Let's do it!"

* * *

The band's rhythmic beat shook the entire club. Or at least that is what it felt like to Korra. She was on what she thought was her fourth drink, but if she were being honest with herself, she lost track after two.

After another guy made a pass at her and once again she rejected him. _No way am I going to hook up with some random guy in a bar. I have way more self respect than that. Maybe if I hang out around Bolin or Mako, then guys will leave me alone. _She saw Bolin across the dance floor and drunkenly stumbled towards him.

Even though she was drunk, she wasn't drunk enough to not be able to carry out a conversation. "So Bolin, where's your brother?" Korra shouted over the roar of the music.

He pointed to across the bar, Mako was leaning against a wall. He was close to the exit, but was carefully watching Bolin and Korra.

"Does he not drink?"

Bolin shook his head, "No, he has been very serious."

"Why is he so serious?" Korra questioned with concern.

"Well… you see, Mako and I are kind of on our own. Our parents died when Mako was eight, ever since then he was a parent to me. Always making sure that I was properly clothed and fed. I don't think he has ever put his happiness in front of someone else's."

Korra's hand shot up to cover her mouth. _Wow, quite a drunken confession. _"Bolin, I'm so sorry, I had no idea."

Bolin put his hand on her arm, "Don't worry about it, I sure don't. And whatever you do, make sure you don't show Mako any pity, he hates when people do that."

Korra thought for a moment, "Of course I won't. Hey wait a minute, was Mako praying before the match?"

Bolin chuckled, "Yeah, he always prays to our parents before each match."

"That's so sweet." Korra said as she slowly looked to Mako.

"Yeah, just don't tell him I told you. Now then, lets go get some more drinks and start dancing." Korra laughed and Bolin grabbed her arm and led her through the crowd.

* * *

Mako looked up at the clock in the club, 3 A.M.. Mako pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and watched as Korra lumbered over to him.

"HEEEEY Makoooo, so…. um….. hehehe…. whatcha doin?" Korra came up to and started leaning heavily on Mako's shoulder.

"I was actually going to take you and Bolin home now."

And for the third time in twenty four hours she stuck her tongue out at him, "Booooo….. that's….. um boring! Why don't…. you wanna dance with *_hiccup* _me?" She looked up at him with polar bear dog eyes and a crooked smile.

She grabbed his hands and tried to drag him to the dance floor. _Damn, those eyes got me. Ah screw it._ "Ok Korra, one dance. Then we're leaving."

She twirled in the air, "Hooray!"

Korra led him out to the middle of the dance floor and placed her hands on Mako's shoulders. She tried to keep her head level, but gave up and just tucked her head on his chest. Mako put his hands on her lower back, keeping her body steady. Even though this dance wasn't right for this music, neither seemed to mind.

Korra giggled against his chest, sending vibrations all throughout his body. He looked down to her, "What's so funny?"

"I can feel… your um heartbeat." She managed to squeak out between giggles. By the time they stopped dancing, Korra had stepped on Mako's feet at least twelve times, not that he minded. His mind seemed to be at total bliss. _It's not every day that I get to dance with a pretty girl._

At the end of the song, Korra looked up at Mako again, "You know… I really liked dancing _*hiccup*_ with you. You're really um good, you're good at …. like everything!" She leaned her head against his chest again, "I think I like you…"

She had said it softly, but Mako heard it. He decided not to make anything of it, after all she was drunk. He chose just to ignore it, "Come on, let's go find Bolin."

Mako grabbed her hand and led her to where Bolin appeared to be napping in a stool at the bar. Mako poked him, "Bolin, let's go."

Bolin didn't even move, Mako sighed. _Bolin always passes out cold._ He moved to the side of Bolin and threw him over his left shoulder. Mako grabbed Korra's hand again and led her out of the bar.

The streets were deserted, but that didn't stop Korra from dragging her feet and doing everything possible to stop whatever progress Mako was trying to make.

He turned to her and raised his finger to make a point, but she stuck her tongue out and started to skip the opposite way down the street. Mako just shook his head and chased her down. Korra attempted to run, but Mako just grabbed her waist and threw her over his other shoulder.

She attempted to squirm out of this position, but seeing that her efforts were fruitless, she decided to try a new tactic. This tactic involved a lot of drunken singing that she thought sounded great.

"Oh Mako….

He's so great!

He um shoots fire!

And dances awesome!"

Korra smiled to herself and continued to sing those four lines until Mako finally reached the brother's apartment. He kicked open the door, placed Bolin on the couch, and walked out the door.

_Now it's time to get this one home._ He glanced at the clock on Aang Memorial Island, 4:20. _Great, the first ferry for Air Temple Island doesn't leave til six._

* * *

Mako had found a boat that he could use to paddle across Yue Bay. He dumped Korra into it unceremoniously and noticed that she had fallen asleep. _Well at least the boat ride will be easy._

Mako used what little strength he had and managed to paddle the boat across the bay right after the sun crested over the horizon.

He pulled the boat up to the dock and stepped onto and grabbed hold of Korra. He decided to be more gentle with her this time and held her with both arms against his chest. He began to walk up the steps to the temple when a thought dawned on him, _I have no idea where to put her. I can't just leave her out here and I can't just break into the temple. What should I do?_

A throat clearing behind him brought him out of his thoughts, he spun around and instinctively brought Korra closer to her chest.

He saw an airbending monk with a thick beard and blue arrow tattoos on his head and hands. He spoke with a deep, thoughtful voice, "So, I assume you have something to do with her being out til dawn?"

Mako paled and gulped.

* * *

AN: Another very fun chapter to write. Once I started to write this one I just got on a roll. I would love to hear what anybody has to say about the way I wrote drunk Korra. Anyway, thank you to those who review/ read my story. Enjoy this chapter. Edit: One more thing, if anyone notices any spelling or grammatical errors, please point them out, I am trying to get this story as well written as possible. Thank you again.


	7. 7: Bedside Comfort

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Legend Of Korra.**

Mako stood there, frozen in place, unsure of what to say to the rather menacing looking figure in front of him. The man exhaled slowly and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Just follow me to the temple, let's get her to bed." He whirled on his heels and walked towards the temple.

Mako stayed nailed to his position before his brain finally interpreted what was said and quickened his pace to catch up with the other man.

They remained in silence for the rest of the journey. Mako was led to what looked like the main temple, through a kitchen, up some stairs, and eventually came to a stop outside of a sliding door.

The monk slid the door open, "Just put her on the bed, and then meet me back outside in front of the temple. I wish to have a discussion about exactly what kind of trouble Korra got into last night."

Mako nodded his head in acknowledgement and the man went back the way he came, with his cloak flowing in the wind behind him.

The firebender ducked through the doorway and immediately stopped dead in his tracks. In the center of the room there was a polar-bear-dog sprawled out on the floor. As soon as it saw Mako, the giant beast growled and started making its way to him.

Mako swallowed his breath, the polar-bear-dog got up to him, sniffed Korra, wagged its tail, and then laid back down. Mako blew a sigh of relief and strolled up to the bed at the far end of the room next to the window.

He set Korra down as gently as he could on the bed and turned to leave the room. A hand grabbing his brought his attention back to the formerly sleeping form on the bed.

"Uggghh, my head. Mako please make the room stop spinning… wait a minute! Where the hell are we?"

"Don't worry, I brought you back to Air Temple Island. You kinda passed out on the way here."

"Oh, uh thanks. My memory is a little fuzzy from last night, was I a total pain last night?"

Mako chuckled, "Um, sort of." Korra groaned. "Oh it's no big deal, I've dealt with much worse."

He made a move to leave again but was once again stopped by Korra's hand grabbing his. "Please, just stay a little longer Mako."

He complied and allowed Korra to drag him onto her bed. Mako sat down along the border of the bed and waited to see what she wanted.

She remained silent, seemingly content with him just sitting there. "Do you need anything Korra?"

"No, it's just cold. You're warm and I'm freezing."

"Maybe you should just use a blanket. I need to get going." Mako attempted to rise up from the bed, but Korra was much too fast. She wrapped her arms around his chest and buried her face in his back. "Really? Come on Korra, I need to go." Korra just responded by curling herself harder into Mako's body.

If he wasn't already frustrated after a long night, Mako would've found this situation rather amusing. He was getting very tired of Korra's antics by now though, he tried to stand once more but Korra's vice grip prevented him.

Mako pried at her fingers, but each time he managed to undo one of her fingers she simply just latched them back together.

He decided to use logic to resolve this ridiculous predicament that he found himself in. "Korra, you have to sleep. You probably have a splitting headache and you need to sleep it off."

"But that means I have to leave the warmth," she said slightly muffled by talking into Mako's back.

"I have to go talk to whoever led me in here though."

This seemed to shock Korra out of the slumbering state she was in. She released Mako and fell back onto her bed, her eyes wide with fear. "This guy who led you in, did he have a beard and an arrow tattoo on his head?"

Mako twisted his body to look at her and nodded.

Korra groaned and spun onto her stomach. She put her head underneath her pillow, trying to hide herself away from her troubles. "Not Tenzin, anybody but him. He's gonna kill me when he figures out what happened."

Mako cast a sympathizing gaze to Korra, "Hmm, well he said he wanted to talk to me, maybe I can convince him to go easy on him."

Korra sprung up towards him, her eyes shimmering with the morning light beginning to sneak its way underneath the room's curtains. "Would you really do that?"

He seemed to get lost in her eyes once again, "Uhh sure Korra, I'm pretty good at talking to adults."

"Thanks so much Mako! I'm just gonna _*yawwwn* _go to bed now." She threw her blanket over her and Mako walked out of the room, throwing one last look towards Korra.

* * *

Mako walked out the front door that Tenzin had led him through. The bitter cold of the morning hit him and he brought his scarf up closer to protect his mouth from the freezing air. _Winter's going to be starting soon, this is the first one for quite some time that Bolin and I will have a shelter to stay in._ This thought brought a small smile to his face. He began scanning the area to see where Tenzin was, but he was nowhere in sight. Mako spotted a gazebo in the distance and began down the path towards it.

He hiked up to the pavilion and saw four figures sitting underneath it, covered in the shade. Mako saw the large imposing figure of Tenzin and three other much smaller figures, no doubt children. Upon closer inspection, he could see that they all were sitting cross legged in a meditating position.

Tenzin opened his eyes at the sound of footsteps approaching, he looked up to see the boy from earlier coming closer. Tenzin rose to his feet, "Kids, go practice at the spinning gates. I want to have a conversation with our visitor."

The three airbender children hopped up and ran to Mako and immediately began bombarding him with questions.

"Who are you?"

"Do you know Korra?"

"Why are you here?"

"How'd you get so tall?"

Tenzin bended a light breeze to stop the torment that Mako was being subjected to. "Kids, that's enough. I need to talk to him alone." His stern voice made all the children run away, knowing exactly when to leave their father be.

The master airbender walked up to the dazed young man and extended his hand in greeting, "Sorry about that, my children can be rather eccentric. My name is Tenzin and I am Korra's airbender master."

Mako took the man's hand and shook it heartily, "I'm Mako, and I suppose you want to hear why I was carrying Korra earlier?"

Tenzin nodded his head, "I'm waiting."

Mako leaned against the railing and began to recount the tale of last night.

* * *

Korra's eyes creaked open and she rose slowly from her bed. She immediately regretted this decision and slammed her head back to her pillow.

"Uggggh my head, what happened?" She asked to nobody in particular. Naga arose from her position and put her head on the mattress next to Korra. "It's ok girl, I'll be fine."

She once again tried to get up and put her hand on her head in an attempt to calm her pounding head. _Ok Korra, just calm down and try to remember what happened last night. Let's see, we won the match, went out to dinner, then Bolin took us out celebrating… then I ended up in my bed. Oh forget it, maybe I'll remember more later._

The Avatar took cautious steps out of her bed and after nearly falling over several times, she decided that she was well enough to walk downstairs.

Korra placed her hand against the wall to steady herself and made the trek to the stairs of the main temple. Reaching the final step she looked out into the dining room, there she saw two people sitting around the kitchen table. Mako and Tenzin sat there, discussing something, and drinking tea. Everything that happened last night came rushing back to Korra all at once.

She twirled and tried to run back up the stairs, but it was too late, Tenzin had already seen her. "Perfect. We were just talking about you Korra." She sighed and walked over to the table with her shoulders deflated.

* * *

AN: Short chapter with not much happening, sorry about that. I just needed to get this part of the story out of the way, after this, the action should start picking up. You'll also get to see what Tenzin has in plan for Korra. Thank you to all those who review/read my story. Enjoy this chapter of Something Worth Fighting For.


	8. 8: The Harsh Morning Reality

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Legend Of Korra**

Korra sat at the table opposite Mako, with Tenzin sitting at the end. She could already begin to feel herself perspire nervously. Looking between both the males at the table, she counted the dreaded seconds before someone spoke.

It was the master airbender who broke the silence, "Korra, I had quite an interesting conversation with your friend Mako over here." He gestured towards Mako, who continued sitting with an unreadable expression. "A very interesting conversation…"

Seeing this as the best chance to beg for mercy, Korra put on the most adorable face she could muster up and looked up at Tenzin, "I'm soo sorry Tenzin, I promise I will never ever ever ever…." She trailed off, confused by Tenzin's calm demeanor. _Shouldn't he be furious? Why isn't his face turning all red? _"Ummm, aren't you mad?"

"I'm a little upset to hear some of the decisions you made last night, but Mako is apparently a lot more responsible than you and managed to keep you in check. I guess I had this one coming, I did tell you to go explore."

Korra's entire face lit up with a bright smile, "Oh my spirits! Thanks Tenzin, I promise I won't be making those same bad decisions again." She sprung up and hugged her master.

Tenzin, caught slightly off guard by his student's hug, slowly pushed her away from him, "You're not getting off that easily. Mako convinced me that you went out celebrated and got carried away because it was your first time in the city."

Korra nodded her head up and down several times, "Yes, yes, that's exactly what happened."

Tenzin put his hand up to stop her, "I also learned that you joined a pro-bending team, normally I wouldn't allow you to be a part of that sort of the thing, but Mako had told me how important you are to his team. So, you are allowed to stay on the team and you will be attending all their team practices and still participate in your airbending training. If I hear that you are celebrating excessively again or that you are not showing up for either of your practices, then your punishment will be severe. And by the way, Mako, why don't you tell Korra what time your team is scheduled for practicing?"

Mako, who hadn't made a noise for the entire conversation, finally spoke up, "We have practice from 7 to 8 every weekday."

Korra gave a passive wave of her hand, "Oh that's no big deal. Night practices are fine with me." She stood up and began to walk out of the room.

"Actually Korra, that's 7 to 8 in the morning, every weekday morning." Mako calmly replied while he and Tenzin stood up from the table and started their walk out of the kitchen.

Korra tried to sputter out something, but everything just came out as incomprehensible mutterings. Tenzin patted her shoulder as him and Mako passed her and walked out the temple's front door.

* * *

Mako and Tenzin stood by the docks awaiting the ferry to come and take Mako back to the mainland. Mako stood with his hands stuffed in his pockets and Tenzin with his hands folded inside his cloak.

"Mako." Tenzin's beckoning call returned the firebender's attention back to the airbender. "Well… I just wanted to thank you."

"Thank me? For what sir?"

"Well, I may live on this island, but that doesn't mean that I am totally clueless to what happens within the city. I know that most people in your situation would've taken advantage of Korra's foolishness. I'm just thankful that she ran into you and your brother."

Mako was taken aback, he very rarely was praised for his responsibility. "Oh well, you're quite welcome sir. I guess I figured that Korra needed someone responsible, I do the same thing for my brother all the time."

Tenzin stroked his beard thoughtfully, "You're brother is lucky to have you. Your parents must be very proud of you."

Mako's face fell, "Actually, my brother and I have been living on our own for ten years now. And we are doing quite well."

"Oh… well Mako I'm sure you are doing a fine job protecting and sheltering your brother and yourself." Tenzin crept closer and placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "And if you ever need anything, then please don't hesitate to ask me." The ferry pulled up to the dock and Tenzin dropped his hand. "Oh and one more thing: keep Korra in line for me."

Mako smiled and nodded before getting onto the ferry. He waved to the monk and awaited the boat's departure. The sailors prepared the ship and before long Mako felt the cool ocean breeze against his face. He turned and peered once more to the clock on Aang Memorial Island. The clock read 10 o'clock, Mako had been up for over a day now and he was beginning to feel the effects. He wiped his hand across his face, desperately trying to stay standing until he reached the apartment he shared with Bolin.

The ship made excellent time across the bay and Mako hopped off as soon as it docked. Luckily for him the docks were fairly close to the arena so he made it there in no time. He climbed the stairs up to the apartment, each step feeling like a giant leap. Finally, Mako had made it to his attic home and opened the door. He saw Bolin's still slumbering form on the couch, "Figures," he muttered under his breath. He stripped to just his undershirt and his pants before passing out on his bed. Images of him and Korra dancing filling his dreams.

* * *

The Fire Ferrets all stood in a triangle formation inside the practice gym. They were wrapping up their practice and were tossing a medicine ball between the three of them to cool down.

"So tell me Korra, why exactly did you freeze when I told you we had practice in the mornings?" Mako inquired before tossing the ball towards her.

Korra yawned for the fifteenth time that morning, "Becaaaause the mornings are evil. Just think, I could be sleeping right now, but nooooo Mako just had to have our practice at the crack of dawn."

Mako just rolled his eyes, "Actually, this is the time that we are scheduled for, I have no control over it."

Korra narrowed her eyes, "Well Mr. Smart Ass, you know what… um..." Seeing as how she lost the argument, she decided to take the immature approach. "Well… hmmph." She turned away from him and crossed her arms.

Mako and Bolin both laughed at Korra's childish ways, which in turn made her start laughing. Their group laughter died away with the sound of the door to the practice gym creaking open. A man with a business suit and a large mustache walked through.

His shifty eyes settled on Korra, instantly making her feel uncomfortable. Mako stepped between the two figures, "What do you want Butakha?"

The burly man gave him a nauseating grin, "My, my, where are you manners Mako? Why don't you introduce me to your new friend." He asked while slithering his way towards Korra.

She laughed nervously and extended her hand out towards him, "I'm Korra, the Fire Ferret's new waterbender."

He took her hand and gave it a firm kiss, "Of course you are, and quite exotic at that." He said with an eyebrow waggle.

The way he had said that made Korra's skin crawl, fortunately for her, Mako slid in between the two once again. "Ok you've met her, now will you get out of here so that we can continue our practice."

"Fine Mako, but I have two things for you. First, here is your money for winning last night's match and qualifying for the tournament." He placed a stack of yuans into Mako's outstretched hand, who immediately began counting it. "Go ahead and count it, there's two hundred yuans there. Oh and one more thing, in order to take place in the championship tournament, you'll need thirty thousand yuans as a posting fee." All three of the fire ferret's mouths dropped, and Butakha left the gym with a laugh.

Bolin paced towards his other two teammates, "What are we gonna do guys? There is no way that we can get that much money in less than two weeks."

Korra was the next to voice her opinion, "Don't worry, I'm sure we can think of something."

Bolin's eyebrows popped up at the sound of her voice, "Wait a minute Korra, isn't there some sort of Avatar bank that we could get the money from?"

She put her finger to her chin, "No sorry Bolin, but I could ask Tenzin for the money." Bolin smiled immediately at the suggestion.

Mako stopped them both before they got carried away, "No way guys, first of all we could never ask Tenzin for that money and second off he would never give that money away for something like this." Korra and Bolin both deflated at this. "But not to worry guys, I have a solution, meet me in front of the arena at five tonight and bring your pro-bending gear. Also Korra, make sure you tell Tenzin you'll be with us and won't be home til late." Mako waved good-bye to both and left the gym, leaving a very confused Bolin and Korra.

* * *

AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Something Worth Fighting For. Alright, so starting off I would just like to say how proud I am of how the character Butakha came out in this chapter. In the show I saw him as kind of sleazy and I thought that I did a good job as portraying him as that. Anyway, this is a turning point for this story. What is coming up in the next few chapters is what originally made me want to write this story.

I have a minor complaint about the show that I would like to share. I feel that in the show the Fire Ferret's got the posting fee for the tournament way too easily. For Asami to just give them the 30,000 yuans after having barely met Mako seems a little ridiculous to me. If you like the way show handled it then that's fine, but the reason I gave that little rant was to show that I will be handling things much differently. Also, I would love to hear your opinion on this subject.

This may worry some of you because you may think that means that Asami has no place in my story, but I can assure you that she will be a prominent character. I plan on introducing her in a much different way though. How she fits into this story and how the Fire Ferrets earn the posting fee will be revealed in the upcoming chapters.

Anywhos, sorry about the long author's note. I just really wanted to get a few points across. Once again, I am very thankful for all those who take the time to read/review my story. Thank you and enjoy.


	9. 9: The Burning Memories

**DICLAIMER: I don't own Legend Of Korra.**

Mako got off of the bus at the first stop past Silk Road Bridge. He relaxed his shoulders and pulled his scarf closer to his face, trying to prevent from being spotted.

He had arrived in Dragon Flats borough, the former home of his family located in the center of the district. He hoped that nobody would recognize him, he hardly ever came back, and was making sure not to make a habit of it.

The house was there, at the end of the street, just like all the other houses except for one thing: the outside walls were all blackened, proof that a fire once raged on that very property. Making sure that nobody was outside, Mako climbed the porch steps and opened the door. The floorboards creaked under his weight and he walked into the former kitchen.

Several chairs were toppled over and all the appliances that were worth something had been ripped from the wall. Mako knocked along the wall panels, waiting for a hallow sound to reverberate from one of them. Finally hearing the satisfying noise he was looking for, he took the wood panel out and reached into the wall and pulled out a small key. He replaced the panel and made his way to his dad's old office.

He sat down at the old office chair and began feeling underneath the desk, he found the indent that he was looking for and pressed it in. A secret compartment opened in the back of the desk and Mako got up and reached inside.

Pulling out a small container, he sat on the floor and inserted the key into the keyhole and opened the box. Inside was a photo of the formerly happy family, a note, and an envelope. Mako grabbed the envelope and slammed the box close again, already feeling the rage building from just catching a glimpse at the note and photo.

Mako checked to see if the money was still in the envelope, stuffed it in his jacket pocket, replaced the key and box to their former resting places, and ran out of the house. He refused to look back, he could feel the tears starting to develop, he never wanted to see the damage he made ever again.

* * *

Korra heard the fast approaching footsteps of Mako approaching from the docks. Bolin and her had been waiting for fifteen minutes and were beginning to become worried until they saw Mako running towards them.

"Hey Mako, what took you so long?" Korra questioned him.

"Don't worry about it, I'm here now. Grab your stuff and let's go." He turned before either Bolin or Korra could get another word in.

They exchanged nervous looks, shrugged, and ran to catch up to him. He led through various alleyways and streets, each time he turned a corner he would check the scenery once more. The longer they kept walking, the slummier the area seemed to get.

After the fifth time being leered at, Korra decided to make her opinions known, "Where exactly are we, I don't like the looks I'm getting here."

She paused a moment for Mako to answer, but he never did. Before she could yell at him for being so quiet, Bolin interjected, "We're in Kotani district, and yeah, it is pretty rundown."

Korra cocked her head to Bolin and whispered, "Does Mako go here often?"

Bolin looked around once more and shrugged. Mako turned down another alley, this one unlike the others in that it was a dead end. There was a metal door that served as an entrance to the building on the right. Korra looked the building up and down, saw all the gang symbols and various other forms of graffiti, and shivered.

Mako knocked on the door once and the slit at the top of it slid open. A pair of beady eyes peered at towards the three of them. "What do you want?" His shrill voice making the scene even more eerie for Korra.

Mako deepened his voice and looked straight at the pair of eyes, "We're here to participate, I have the money for it."

"You ain't cops, are ya?"

Mako rolled his eyes, "If we were, then would have just busted the door open, wouldn't we have?"

That was apparently a satisfactory answer for the man, who closed the slit and opened the door for the three of them. Mako led the trio inside and it took a moment to adjust to the dim lighting in the building. The firebender wasted no time in leading the other two down a dark hallway that opened up into a larger area flooding with lights.

Once inside the large room, Korra could see what looked like quite an elaborate training facility. The room was rectangular and there was a walkway leading all around the center stage. The stage was a large stone platform with water canals running parallel with the sides of it.

Mako made quick haste out of the room and through a door which led into small office. Behind the desk was a shifty looking man with a shaved head and way too many rings on his fingers.

Mako strolled right up to the desk and once again spoke in that authoritative voice from before, "We are here to sign up. I'm Mako, and that's Bolin and Korra behind me."

The man extended his decorated hand, "Entrance fee is one thousand yuans, son."

Mako reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash, promptly putting it in the man's hand. Korra's mouth dropped, _I didn't think he had that much money, they must make pretty good money for pro-bending. _She looked to Bolin to confirm her theory, but he too was just as shocked to see Mako produce the money like it was nothing.

The man took the money, counted it, and grinned, "Thanks very much. The changing room is the room two doors down from here. Be ready in ten minutes and good luck."

They exited the office and Korra immediately sprung a question at Mako, "What are we doing here?"

"I'll explain later." He casually said as he opened the door to the changing room.

They followed him in and this time it was Bolin's turn to question him, "Where did you get that kind of money, bro?"

"I have been saving." His curt answer left Bolin and Korra to have doubt that "saving" was how he produced the money that quickly.

Mako unzipped his duffle bag and turned towards them, "You better get ready, we have a match."

* * *

AN: UGGGHHHH, this was by far the most annoying chapter to write so far. I have restarted on it at least three times and each time I was unsatisfied and deleted it. At this point, I am somewhat ok with how it turned out.

Moving on, sorry about how short this chapter is, I have two reasons for that. The first is that the next chapter is going to be much longer and I didn't want to make it too long by attaching this chapter with it. The second reason is that yesterday I decided to start working on another story. Since I started on that story, it is all I wanted to write, but I buckled down and finally managed to write this chapter. If you are curious about the other story, I hope to have the first chapter of it out by this weekend. I promise that it will be different than almost all other fanfiction stories out there. Also, if you are worried about that story distracting from this one, then I assure you that this story will be my main focus and will get more updates than the other one.

Anyway, back to this chapter. The main reason I had such a hard time writing it is because of the beginning part. That first scene will have a major impact on the rest of the story and I couldn't get it quite right. Kudos to anyone who figures out what I have planned for our dynamic trio to partake in the next chapter, although I don't believe anyone will get it completely right. Ok I have gone far enough, so sorry about the rambling author's note again. Thank you to all those who review/read my story, please enjoy this chapter of Something Worth Fighting For.


	10. 10: Intimate Interruptions

Mako was in his practice uniform, waiting for his brother and the Avatar to come out of the changing room. _I hate myself for subjecting them to this, but there is no other way we can earn the money otherwise._

Korra emerged from the changing room alone, dressed in the same kind of training gear as Mako. "Bolin had to use the bathroom." She offered as explanation for her being alone. They continued to stand there outside the door, Korra was bouncing back and forth on her heels, clearly having something on her mind. "Hey, um Mako can I talk to you about something?"

He looked down towards her, a signal for her to talk.

"Bolin kind of drunkenly told me about how you and him are on your on. I was just kind of wondering if you wanted to talk about it." Korra looked up sympathetically to him.

Mako looked away quickly, "I don't want to talk about it and I don't want your pity."

Korra grabbed his shoulder to make her look at him, "I didn't want to show you pity, I actually wanted to tell you that I think that what you do for Bolin and yourself is nothing short of incredible. I know that I wouldn't be able to handle your situation."

Mako saw her eyes filled with something, not pity as was the case for most who knew his story, but admiration. His eyes softened considerably after seeing her expression, "Thanks Korra, nobody has ever said anything that nice before."

She smiled shyly, "Where I come from, there are a lot of genuinely nice people. Don't act so surprised and act suspicious when someone shows you compassion, city boy." Her voice was obviously joking and Mako found himself laughing over her nickname for him. She giggled as well and decided now would be a good time to continue this learning experience with Mako, "By the way, Bolin never told me where you guys lived and if you need a place to stay, you're more than welcome to stay on Air Temple Island."

"Thanks Korra for the offer, but we doing fine. We actually have an apartment in the attic of the pro-bending arena. It's not much, but the view is incredible."

She decided to try pushing him a little farther, "Bolin also told me about how you pray to your parents before each match." His expression turned stony again and she quickly recovered, "And I think that it is extremely sweet."

Korra reached up and took his hands in hers. He looked down to her with eyes brimming with gratitude, her eyes looking up at his with nothing but compassion. Mako took notice for the first time that Korra had an absolutely stunning smile, her dimples lighting up her entire face. He was about to feel bad for staring, when he noticed that she too seemed to be enjoying her own view.

Their intimate moment was cut short with the sound of a door opening and Bolin storming out. "Woah, sorry guys. I didn't mean to interrupt anything," He said with a suggestive eyebrow waggle.

The pair recovered at the same time and dropped each others' hands. Korra looked around embarrassed and Mako looked down and kicked a nonexistent rock with his foot.

The firebender managed to regain his composure faster than Korra and looked at Bolin, who was nearly bursting at the seams trying to keep himself from laughing. "That's enough Bolin." Mako snapped, more from embarrassment than anger. "Now would you two like to hear what we are doing here?" This seemed to peak the other two's interest so he continued. "We are gonna take part of a 'different' form of pro-bending. This course has only two sides, the court is divided by one line. The goal is to knock all your opponents out the back of their side of the rectangular court. There are only two rules about bending, no lightning for firebenders and no earthbending earth on the other side of the court." Korra and Bolin both grinned wickedly at each other. "Trust me guys, it's not as much fun as you'd think. People are going to try to hurt you out there, I wouldn't have brought you out here if I thought there was another way. You can't be afraid to hurt the opposing team, cause they aren't afraid to hurt you." This time Bolin and Korra just nodded somberly. "Alright guys, our current odds are eight to one, so if we win then we get eight thousand yuans. Then our odds go to four to one, so we would only need to win that match as well and then we have the money we need. Now then let's go out there and win this thing."

They walked to the arena and took their places on one side of the improvised pro-bending field, Korra and Bolin suddenly feeling nervous.

* * *

The other team filed onto the court and the doorman from before stood in between the two teams. There were no introductions, no lights, nothing felt the same to Korra.

The man raised his hand, "Alright on the count of three the match will begin." He moved off to the side of the field.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

The other team immediately sprung on the offensive. The firebender fired a huge wall of fire at the three Fire Ferrets. Korra brought a water shield in protection and managed to douse the flames before they got to close to her teammates. Mako nodded towards her, serving as a wordless thanks.

She turned the water shield into icicles and fired them all to the other team. The defensive to offensive strategy that she had employed worked quite well, the other team was forced to step back and raise their arms in defense of their heads.

The ice raced past them, cutting into their uniforms and drawing blood. The team's firebender was forced to close his eyes, clearly afraid of an ice shard landing in them. Bolin saw this and immediately fired two stone bricks. They made contact with his gut and he went flying backwards. He muttered an "oof" before landing flat on his back outside of the court.

The waterbender offered much more resistance and stopped the ice before it could make contact with him. He turned it back to water and flung a vicious water whip at Mako. Korra stepped in front of her teammate and stopped the water before it had a chance to strike. She pointed to Bolin, who was in combat with the opposing team's earthbender. Mako got the hint and ran to his brother's side, Korra wanted this fight.

The other waterbender smirked at her cockiness, his own confidence evident with his stance. He acted first by swirling water around him and forming it in the octopus style. He shot forward the separate tentacles trying to knock the Avatar off balance.

Korra did not back down though. For every tentacle, she simply broke off the end of it, never allowing the water to make contact with her. After his fifth unsuccessful attack, his water blasts began to grow less precise. Seeing this as her opportunity to turn the tables, she waited for the next water stream.

When it finally came Korra reached out and grabbed it. She bent the water and commanded it to swirl and circle her body. Not satisfied with stealing only some of his water, she lifted every last drop of water away from him, causing him to stumble backwards. Korra utilized all the water and created a giant water sphere around her.

The other waterbender quickly recovered and began to fire huge water blasts at Korra, who in turn used the water to increase the size of her already impressive water orb. He furiously shot forward a water wave with all his might, only to have it stop before even getting on the other side of the court. The Avatar had stopped the wave in midair and redirected it right back at the bender who originally made it. He raised his hands in defense and attempted to stop himself from getting knocked back. The wave lacked any force behind it though, the water simply fell lightly on the floor but not before drenching him first.

Korra smirked, though it was hardly visible through the water sphere. She felt the water on her opponent and concentrated, turning the water on his clothes into ice, effectively trapping him in place. He tried to fight it, but the ice was too thick and he was too tired. Korra took the sphere of water and reshaped it into a ball in front of her. She shot the water forward with all the force she could manage. The water slammed into her opponent and forced him hard out of the court.

Korra did not allow her moment of victory to last long, for she still saw that the earthbender was still fighting Mako and Bolin. The opponent was trying to defend, he was doing well, but there was no way he could stand up against all three of the Fire Ferrets. She gathered enough water to make a small jet stream and fired it at the last member of the other team. The earthbender was still occupied with the bending brothers and never saw the water coming. It hit him square in the head which disorientated him long enough for Mako to deliver the finishing blow.

The three victorious team members met for a group hug in the center of their court. Korra was quite proud of herself, _Mako was wrong, that was easy. He was probably just trying to psych me and Bolin up._ They walked off to collect their winnings, all three confident that they would have the money for the tournament in no time.

* * *

AN: Thank you for reading this chapter of Something Worth Fighting For. In this chapter, we got to see the ever growing relationship between Mako and Korra. I think that Mako would have been confused by Korra's compassion at first, but then when he saw that was genuine he would be very grateful towards her.

Anyway moving on, we had an action scene and the Fire Ferrets easily took their first match. Whether their next match will be just as easy will be answered in the next chapter.

Anywhos, thank you to those who take the time to read/review my story. Please enjoy


	11. 11: Nose-Pincher

The Fire Ferrets gathered on one side of the court waiting for their next opponent. They already had told the highly decorated man that they wanted another match, and were anxiously waiting to see who their next victims would be.

A door at the far end of the room burst open and four shadowy figures walked into the makeshift pro-bending arena. Three of them were dressed in training uniforms similar to the one the Avatar and her friends wore, while the fourth wore casual clothes. The only unusual thing about the odd man out was that they were wearing a helmet which obstructed anyone from getting a good luck at them.

The three pro-benders stepped onto the court opposite the Fire Ferrets. The opposing waterbender snaked his way over to their side of the court.

"The name's Tahno, I see that we have some fresh blood for tonight's game." All three turned at the sound of his posh voice.

Bolin and Mako were about to tell him off, but Korra beat them to it, something about this guy made her blood boil. "Don't be acting all high and mighty, you may think you're tough, but you're dealing with a professional pro-bending team here."

Tahno scoffed, "So are you, we happen to be the pro-bending champs three years running. Soon to be four." He flicked his thumb indicating behind him. "That's Shaozu our firebender and Ming our erthbender."

Korra didn't back down that easily and responded quickly, "If you really are the pro-bending champions then why are you here in a place like this?"

"We use this place as practice for our matches. Plus, it's pretty fun, with no rules we get to take out some pent up frustration against the other team." She gulped at his threat. "By the way, I've never seen you around the circuit before. Why don't you dump these two and come join me? Maybe I'll even take you to my private room afterwards and give you some private lessons."

Mako had heard enough and stepped between the two waterbenders, "Why don't you go get ready for the match, Tahno? I want this thing to start so I can knock some sense into you."

Tahno just laughed and walked off back towards his team, leaving behind a very ticked off Korra, "Man, I am gonna bash that guy's teeth in."

Mako put a hand on her shoulder to steady her, "Calm down, he was trying to get inside your head, don't let him." Korra huffed and nodded her head in acknowledgement.

The scrawny man took his position between the two teams, "On the count of three, the match begins…"

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

As soon as the final word was spoken, Tahno was on the attack. He charged the midcourt line and brought a water uppercut with him. The attack caught Korra off guard, she had never seen a waterbender be so willing to fight up close. She stumbled into Mako and both watched helplessly as a water blast sent them careening out of bounds, but not before Korra was able to twist her body and fire her own water blast at the opposing team.

Korra had been hoping for a miracle with that last ditch effort, and her prayers were answered. The water stream hit Shaozu right in his side, who was too preoccupied with Bolin to notice. The opposing firebender was sent flying out of bounds.

No more than twenty seconds into the game, and already three people had been eliminated. Mako and Korra got up from the ground and looked towards Bolin, no doubt he was shaking in his boots over the fact he had to face the pro-bending champs two-on-one.

If Bolin was nervous, his play sure didn't reflect it. He was dodging every volley of earth and water that Tahno and Ming were throwing at him, and he even managed to get a few shots of his own in. The match continued like this for a good few seconds, nobody making contact, but everyone getting good looking shots.

Tahno decided to change tactics and covered Bolin's side of the court with a sheet of ice. Bolin didn't notice it at first, which cost him dearly. Ming shot two stone bricks at him, the first one Bolin was able to punch through, but he slipped on the ice and the second one hit him right in the ribs.

He placed a hand on his ribs and knew immediately just from the intense pain that at least one rib was broken. Bolin didn't even wince though, he seemed to be running on pure adrenaline now.

He smashed his left foot through the ice and caused a small tremor which shattered the rest of the sheet of ice. Tahno and Ming lost their footing slightly after the unexpected quake, and the hesitation in their onslaught was just what Bolin needed. He hurled two decently sized earth blocks at his two opponents.

The blocks landed just in front of the two, who easily dodged what should have been a finishing blow. Bolin was trying not to hurt anybody, and Ming and Tahno knew it, which meant they could exploit it.

Bolin continued the barrage with smaller, more compact stone bricks, but the opposing team could easily defend against it.

Tahno put two fingers up in the air, signaling a play for him and Ming to perform. Ming stood in front of Tahno and guarded him from any of Bolin's earth shots.

The pompous waterbender gathered two large orbs of water on either side of him and Bolin stopped his attack to prepare for a defensive counter. Tahno surprised him by condensing the water and turning it into mist, which he then used to shroud their side of the field. The thick mist prevented Bolin from seeing either figure and he began to fire blindly into the watery shroud.

Ming had been waiting for this and used his attacks to pinpoint exactly where Bolin was standing. Once he zeroed in on him, he delivered a swift earth brick aimed right at Bolin's head.

The fast approaching earth surprised Bolin, he had no time to stop it and it slammed into his nose. Bolin spun around and fell onto the floor, blood oozing from his nose. The mist disappeared and Ming and Tahno stood there laughing, even though Bolin had net yet been forced out of the court.

Korra ran to go help him, but Mako's firm grip on her wrist stopped her, "Don't. If we go out there then we forfeit."

Korra looked at him completely aghast, "Are you insane? Look at his nose! He needs help."

Mako just brushed her off and shouted to make sure his brother got his message, "Listen to me Bolin, you need to get aggressive. I want you to get angry, I need you to get angry. Give them payback for what they just did to your face."

Bolin seemed to receive his brother's message clearly, for he stood up and faced Tahno and Ming once more.

Tahno just gawked at him, "You sure you want to fight? Your nose is pretty crooked." Both he and Ming cracked up again.

Bolin took his nose between his fingers and twisted it hard to get it back into position. His hand came away drenched in blood, leaving the other team staring at him in disgust.

Bolin didn't give them time to recover and began firing earth pellets at the two wide eyed pro-benders. The first wave of pellets surprised both Tahno and Ming, they were battered and received quite a beating. Tahno acted quickly before the next barrage could come, he sent two water streams at Bolin and froze them once they made contact, encasing Bolin's arms in ice.

Ming fired a heavy boulder at the frantic Bolin, who attempted to side step it, but was a split second too late. The boulder hit him hard in the left shoulder and he let out a blood curdling scream in agony.

Tahno smirked, "Had enough yet?"

Quit did not seem to be in Bolin's vocabulary tonight, who only responded with a grunt. Ming and Tahno readied another attack, but before they got the chance, Bolin went down on all fours.

He dug his feet and hands into the stone and commanded it to cover his body. He rose from the ground, this time in full stone body armor.

Ming and Tahno fired their attacks, both of which just bounced harmlessly off Bolin's earth suit. Bolin reached down behind him and dug his hands into the ground again, with Ming and Tahno constantly peppering him with useless barrages. He cracked the entire width of the field and lifted a slab half the size of his playing side above his head.

The oppoenents tried to run from the attack, but to no avail. The huge earth wall crushed into their backs and they went sailing against the wall on the other side of the room.

Once Bolin saw he had defeated them, the earth crumbled away from him and he collapsed from exhaustion and injury.

* * *

The Fire Ferrets were in the office of the man with too much jewelry. Bolin sat on a chair with a bloody rag held to his nose, Korra crouched next to him and tried to mend his broken ribs with her healing, and Mako waited for the man behind the desk to give them their money.

He finally handed Mako an envelope filled with their earnings and smiled wickedly towards the three, "Hell of a match, hope to see you three back here soon."

Mako snorted, "Don't count on it, we wont ever be that desperate again."

The man prepared to retort, but the scrawny doorman from before burst into the office, "Boss, it's the police! They're here!"

On cue, the wall behind the "boss" crumbled away and metal cables came flying in from the shadowy new entrance.

The cables wrapped around the boss and scrawny man, but the other three were too quick. They rushed out the door and back into the court. Korra gathered some water from the canals and froze the door behind them.

There were sounds of more police filing in from the entrance that the trio had entered the building from, their only known escape route.

All three looked around franticly for an escape, but they didn't know which door led out. "Follow me!" A new voice rang through the air, it was the stranger that Tahno and his team had walked in with.

Seeing that they had no other options they followed the figure through a series of hallways and doors and eventually happened upon a garage with a convertible Satomobile in it. The stranger hopped into the driver's seat and the Fire Ferrets all piled in the back.

The car flew into drive and plowed right through the garage door. Outside there were five police vans and an airship flying overhead, illuminating the entire scene with its search lights.

The helmeted figure wasted no time in speeding away from the police ridden area, three police vans and the airship in hot pursuit.

Whoever their rescuer was, they certainly knew how to drive. Within three streets and five very sharp turns, all three police vans had crashed into either each other or a building. Even with all their success, the speeding car could not shake the light that the airship had shining on it.

They ducked down alleyways and went through tunnels, but it seemed impossible to outmaneuver. Korra's mind raced for an idea when she suddenly remembered something that could come in handy that she'd seen from before.

The Avatar stood up in the back seat and raised her hands out to her sides. She felt the water vapor in the air, concentrated on it, and eventually managed to blanket their pathway with a thick blanket of fog. Not even the police airship's search lights could puncture through.

The driver quickly used the fog to their advantage immediately and took a hard left into an alley way and quickly took a hard right into a vacant garage. Once inside the stranger jumped out of the car and closed the garage door as fast as possible.

All four held their breaths as they waited for the airship to no longer be heard. The noise died out and they waited another five minutes before anyone made any movements.

The stranger walked back into view of the other three and removed their helmet. All of them gasped when long flowing black hair escaped from the helmet.

A pair of green eyes stared right at them, "Hi, I'm Asami Sato."

* * *

AN: (**Fair Warning: Long author's note, feel free to skip it if you want**) OOOOH boy, another insanely fun chapter to write. I'm gonna be honest with you guys, the last two chapters were a total drag and I didn't like how either of them turned out. This chapter, however, I could not be happier with.

First off, this whole chapter was going to be totally different than what I put up. I had an idea in my head and it wasn't until I saw the review by angel. nieves.1656 that I decided to change it. Their review was talking about how Bolin was very under utilized in the show and so far in my story.

I instantly agreed with that assessment and change the whole chapter. Now in this chapter we have the very sacrificial Bolin, who put his body on the line to ensure victory. I also wanted to show how dangerous pro-bending could be without rules and Bolin's injuries helped me accomplish that goal.

The whole Asami showing up to save them didn't actually come to me until right before I restarted the chapter. Originally she wasn't gonna be introduced yet, but I couldn't pass up this opportunity once I got the idea in my head. Why she was hanging out with Tahno and why the cops showed up will all be explained next chapter. Til then, thanks to those who review/read my story and please enjoy this chapter of Something Worth Fighting For.


	12. Rich Rescue

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Legend of Korra**

"Wait a minute, you're telling us that you are Asami Sato, the Asami Sato, sole heiress to the Sato empire?" A flabbergasted Mako asked from the backseat of the Satomobile.

Asami giggled at the three confused expressions coming from the backseat of her car, "Yup, that's me."

"But that makes no sense, you're rich, why would you be in such a slummy neighborhood?"

Her face broke out into a wide smile, "Pro-bending. I can't get enough of it, I'm constantly trying to watch as much as I possibly can."

Bolin was the next to question her, "But why would you show up with a jerk like Tahno? Are you dating him or something?"

Asami laughed at the implication, "Of course not, he's way too big of a player, or at least he likes to think he is. I hang around his team because… well I like winners. If a team gets hot then I'm going to watch all their matches. And for the past three years, nobody has been hotter than Tahno's Wolfbats."

Mako snorted at the comment and replied with a huff, "Then why bother saving us?"

Asami wrinkled her nose in annoyance at Mako's tone, "You're welcome! I didn't have to save you, in fact the only reason I did was because of the impressive way that your earthbender handled that match so I couldn't let you go to jail before I got to know you."

This seemed to satisfy Mako and Bolin, but Korra was still left sitting with the confused expression from before. She decided to voice her confusion, "Ok I'm still lost, who the heck are you and why did they know about you?" She gestured to Bolin and Mako, "Also, why were the police after us in the first place?"

Asami removed her angry glare from Mako and looked at Korra with a much softer expression, "Well, the police don't exactly like underground pro-bending. A politician all but eliminated these sorts of dangerous matches, but they started growing again after they died ten years ago. And since you're obviously new to the city, my father is the owner of a company that manufactures most of the automobiles for Republic City, so my last name is pretty well known around the city. By the way, I never caught your names."

Korra replied with a smile and a wave, "I'm Korra."

Asami's hands shot to her mouth in amazement, "Korra! As in the Avatar Korra?"

"Umm, yeah that's me, how do you know about me?"

"Well you're the talk of the town, everyone was wondering if you would ever leave Air Temple Island."

"But I never said my name on the radio or had my picture taken, how did you know it was me? Nobody has recognized me yet."

"Let's just say that the more influential families get to hear a little more than the average citizen. Anyway, who are you two?" She asked and pointed to Bolin and Mako.

"The name's Bolin. The cute one of the team." He said with a playful wink.

Asami giggled while Korra and Mako rolled their eyes. Asami then looked at Mako, "What about you, Mr. I don't need rescuing?"

"Mako, Bolin's older brother. The sensible one of the group," the firebender growled out.

"Ok, since you guys got to ask me all those questions, now it's my turn. What were you guys doing in a place like that?"

Mako answered first, "We needed the money."

Asami raised her eyebrow at his brief explanation, "Foooor what?"

Bolin put his arm up to stop Mako from answering, "We needed it to get into the pro-bending championship tournament. Our team is the Fire Ferrets and this is our first season."

"Oh yeah, I have heard about you guys. Everyone is talking about the potential you guys have and after seeing you guys first hand I can see why everyone is so high on you." She opened the garage door slightly and looked outside, "Ok it is all clear. We can leave, but only on foot. They will be looking for this car all over this city."

They all got out of the car and stood by the garage door before Bolin seemed to realize something, "What about your Satomobile? What if someone steals it?"

Asami shrugged her shoulder, "It's no big deal, I have other ones just like it."

Mako snorted again, "Can we just go?"

Asami glared at him again, "Yeah you can, but first I just wanted to invite you somewhere."

The firebender looked at her skeptically, "Where?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure even you would enjoy it Mako, just be outside the pro-bending arena at three tomorrow." After that she opened the garage and walked out into the quickly dissipating fog that Korra had conjured up earlier.

Korra watched as the tension gradually decreased in Mako as Asami walked farther away. "Hey Bolin why don't you go on ahead? I want to have a little talk with Mako."

Bolin opened his mouth to say something, but promptly closed it and nodded after seeing the look Korra was giving him. He ran ahead out of earshot of his brother and the Avatar.

Korra put her hand on Mako's shoulder to get him moving, "Hey you ok?" He brushed her hand off and walked past her. She quickened her pace to catch up to him, "Come on, talk to me about it."

Seeing that he couldn't get rid of her, Mako sighed and looked at her, "Let's just say that I don't really like rich people. Something about having more money than they know what to do with really gets to me."

That hit Korra hard, she stopped for a second to recover. She quietly muttered, "Oh…"

* * *

AN: Woooow what a short chapter after a full day with no updates. And here come the excuses: I spent most of yesterday out of my house and what writing I did get done was on my other story. Which I'm happy to say had its first chapter put up today.

If you want to check it out, it's called The Deserted and Forgotten and it's an Avatar: The Last Airbender story. Check my profile to find it. Also, fair warning, it is rated M for violence and language. So if that offends you then you may want to skip reading that story.

Anyway back to this story, not much to say about this chapter, just tying up the loose ends that last chapter made. I know this chapter is lacking in the action department, but every so often there has to be chapters like this. I've said enough by now, so thank you to all those review/read my story and please enjoy this chapter of Something Worth Fighting For.


	13. Queasy Rider

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Legend of Korra**

The Fire Ferrets waited outside the pro-bending, sitting on the bench underneath the gazebo. They were again waiting on someone to take them to an unknown location, but this time they didn't even know the person who was taking them. They had met her, but they still didn't know anything about Asami, besides that she was rich.

That quality seemed to have differing effects on the three team members. Mako seemed to instantly dislike her and didn't have much patience for anything she did. Bolin could not be more excited, he loved the idea of being around someone who could afford anything they wanted. Korra's natural curiosity and love for adventure made her very excited for whatever Asami had planned.

Mako sighed loudly, "Why are we even going with her? We don't even know her, she's probably just taking us somewhere to brag about how rich she is."

Bolin glared at his brother, "Could you just be friendly, for once? Come on, we owe her that much. After all, she did rescue us last night."

Mako just groaned in response just as Asami came walking towards them smiling brightly, "Gee Mako, don't sound so excited to see me."

Bolin and Korra returned her smile while Mako just rolled his eyes. He sighed for the umpteenth time that day, "Let's just get this over with."

They hopped into another one of Asami's cars and sped off. They were headed to the Golden District, which was appropriately named considering only the richest citizens of Republic City lived there. Asami drove past several expensive looking homes before turning down a private driveway with golden gates blocking the entrance. A security guard, by the looks of him, stepped out from the guard hut and opened the gates upon seeing that it was Asami asking for entry.

The entire Sato estate was enormous, nearly ten times bigger than any other of the properties in the neighborhood. Asami parked the car inside their private garage and stepped outside waiting for the other three to follow suit. The four of them walked in silence around the house and into the enormous land that served as a back yard.

Asami led them down onto what appeared to be giant paved road in the shape of a race track. Seeing the perplexed expressions on Korra, Mako, and Bolin she turned to explain their destination, "Well guys, welcome to the Satomobile testing course. I decided to let you guys get a taste of what some of my dad's vehicles can do."

Bolin instantly beamed at her, Mako continued his indifference stance and kept his arms crossed, but neither of them could beat the amount of emotion Korra was showing.

She was jumping with excitement, she seemed to be speaking faster than humanly possible could, "Are you serious! I always wanted to drive one! We really get to drive them! Asami, I can drive one right?"

Asami laughed at her childlike behavior, "Of course you can Korra. Mako, I'm sure, is trying way too hard to be unhappy so I'm sure he wouldn't want to drive. Bolin can ride with me and you and Mako can go together. We'll even have a friendly race."

She led them to another garage where several mechanics were working on the Satomobiles. Asami pointed to the two vehicles towards the front. They were two-seaters, with one seat directly behind the other. These Satomobiles were more streamlines and smaller, clearly made for racing at high speeds.

Korra and Asami each took a driving position with Mako and Bolin filing in behind their respective driver. They all adorned helmets and pulled up to the starting line for their race. Although Korra and Mako's racer had much more trouble getting to the line. Korra was inexperienced at driving and her pace was much more of a start then abrupt stop.

After the fifth such jerking motion Mako leaned forward to give Korra some advice, "Korra, you gotta learn to use the clutch, shift it when you feel it rumbling."

Korra nodded and a man with a checkered flag came out unto the race track. He waved the flag and the two cars sped off.

Asami was very experienced and was able to easily glide across the track, Bolin and her both grinning ear to ear. The race seemed to be the last thing on Korra's mind. She laughed as she swerved back and forth on the pavement. Mako was nervously gripping the sides of the car, praying to Agni that he would survive. Korra's reckless driving eventually led them into the grassy field that made up the middle of the race track. She made several different tire marks in the shape of circles on the grass, much to the chagrin of the master gardener who was watching the race with several other employees.

Asami's car raced across the finish line after an impressive course run. Korra and Mako managed to cross the line as well after getting off the grass, although they had only managed to stay on the track for about hundred feet and cut out most of the course by cutting across the grass. Their racing Satomobile came to a stop just a few feet short of the other one. Mako stumbled out on all fours earning a laugh from Bolin and Asami.

Korra jumped out of the driver's seat and ran up to Asami with more excitement than before the race, "Oh man, can we do that again? I can't believe how fast we were going." Mako groaned at the prospect of having to go through another race with Korra at the helm.

Asami put her hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter, "Alright we will Korra, but after I give you guys a tour and have you meet my father. It'll be fast, it seems like Mako can't wait to get another race in." The three of them left behind a gaping Mako, who ran to catch up once he regained his composure.

* * *

Their first stop on the tour was to meet Asami's father, who happened to be residing in his office. Asami knocked at the door and upon hearing a "come in" all four ventured in the room.

The room was quite exquisite, with one wall lined with a huge bookshelf. There was a man behind an elegant desk, clearly Asami's father, and another man scanning the bookshelf for one particular book.

Asami's father looked up as the four teens approached him. Asami gestured the other three to go forward and shake his hand while explaining to her father who they were, "Dad this is Avatar Korra and her pro-bending teammates Mako and Bolin. Guys this is my father, Hiroshi Sato."

He shook each of their hands firmly, "Pleased to meet all of you. Oh and that is my assistant over there." He gestured to the man by the bookshelf who stepped forward into the light. "His name is Noatak."

* * *

AN: Sorry for another short update, but I just had to leave this one as a cliffhanger. Anyway, some of you may be wondering why Mako is being such a jerk to Asami. Well, in the show I feel like Mako acted completely opposite to his personality whenever he was around her. He would let her shower him in money and gifts and I feel like such a self made man like Mako would have a problem accepting such affection. I made their relationship how I feel it would actually happen, Mako would be naturally wary about someone who just showed out of the blue and happens to be rich. Mako would think that like most rich people, she is very spoiled and care little about other people. Of course, she isn't like that, but Mako would still be rigid around her just like he was towards Korra when they first met. Now that I'm done with my rant, I would love to hear about you guys think of Asami and Mako's relationship.

Alrighty, that's about it, I'm not saying anything about the last scene, that's up to you guys to interpret for now. Thank to those who read/review my story and please enjoy this chapter of Something Worth Fighting For.

P.S. I also stole the title of this chapter from the title of one episode of the show King of the Hill, I love that show.


	14. Strange Faces

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Legend Of Korra**

Noatak came into the light of the office and shook Mako's hand first, then Bolin's and Korra's. Each one suppressing a shudder afterwards, something about Hiroshi's assistant seemed off.

Before they could continue figuring out the mystery man, Hiroshi rose up from behind the desk and spoke again, "I'm sorry about this, but I must be taking me leave. I have an important business meeting to attend." With that he walked out of the room with Noatak close on his heel.

Asami led them out of the office and continued with the tour, her three companions were silenced by their earlier encounter. They were shown the enormous manor which encompassed hundreds of rooms and luxury items. The tour ended after another thirty minutes of meandering through the Sato mansion. Asami led the Fire Ferrets back to her car and drove them back to the pro-bending arena. She left after dropping, a little put off and perplexed by the way they acted after meeting her father.

All three watched as the Satomobile sped away and then turned towards each other with equally confused expressions. Bolin was the first to break the silence, "Sooooo, was anyone else a little scared of that assistant Hiroshi had?"

"Yeah, I feel like I know him from somewhere too…" Mako trailed off and put a finger to his chin to ponder the thought.

"I don't think I knew him, but he was definitely creepy. Oh well, the issue I'm more concerned with is the way my dear old brother was treating our gracious host."

Mako's gaze intensified, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on Mako, don't play stupid. You were being such a jerk to Asami, who is absolutely awesome."

"Yeah Mako. I mean she did seem pretty nice." Korra offered.

"Hey, I just don't find looking at someone's wealth all that entertaining."

"You're crazy!" Bolin interjected, "Asami's rich, really nice, gorgeous… Oh my goodness we'd be perfect together!"

Mako sighed, "Listen guys I really got to check on something. I'll see you tomorrow for practice." He began walking away before turning back with a mischievous smirk. "And Bolin, I don't think that you should go after Asami. After all, you did say you were in love with Korra before meeting her."

He left a gaping Bolin and laughing Korra as he walked back into the streets.

* * *

Mako found himself in his childhood neighborhood for the second time in less than a week. Deciding that this place would haunt him forever, he decided to drop the pretenses and not bother trying to hide his face.

He walked into his former house and retrieved the chest from the secret compartment once more. Mako sat on the floor and took the two remaining items from the box.

He read the note first, which was written from his father to his mother one week before they were murdered.

_Dear Airi,_

_I know that you have been worried lately about me. There have been a lot of threats made towards me recently. But people in my line of work aren't ever going to be well liked by everybody._

_My partner has assured me though that our goal is in sight. In fact, we may even finish up within this week._

_There is going to be a big gala for everyone who has helped so far. It will be one week from today. We can even take the kids to it. And I promise, after this week, everything is going to be much better._

_Love, _

_Hiro_

Mako set the note down and looked at the photo next. It was a picture of him, his mom, and his dad at the party that his dad had written his mom about. Bolin had stayed home because he had gotten sick. It was the night that they had been murdered.

When Mako found the note two years later, he was furious. He immaturely blamed his dad for the entire problem. His father told his mom that everything would be fine, Mako had thought that would be true. In a fit of rage, he thrashed the house, setting nearly everything on fire in his wake.

He had been so ashamed at his outburst that he didn't stick around long enough for the firefighters to show up. He turned his back and left what was left of his childhood memories behind.

Seeing the picture now, he started to see more hidden details in it. There were several people who enjoying the gala in the background. He spotted exactly who he was looking for, the face he couldn't forget. In the background was the very same man that was introduced to him earlier as Hiroshi's assistant. Mako knew he had looked familiar, _Why would he be at that party though? _This thought stayed in his mind as he wandered back to his apartment, now determined to find out more about his father and this Noatak man.

* * *

AN: Well, here it is finally. I'm sorry this so short, but I did promise someone that this chapter would be up today, even if it super late. Anyway, I'm not saying anything about this chapter. I'd be very interested to hear some of your theories about what has been happening lately. Ok, thank you to those who read/ review and please enjoy this chapter of Something Worth Fighting For.


	15. Knowledge Seeker

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Legend of Korra**

Mako determined at some point on his walk back home that he had to find out more about what his father did. _I remember he always came home really late, but I never even bothered asking exactly what he did. Narook once said that he knew him, I'll start there. _

He walked to the noodle shop and stepped right up to the front desk. "Hey Narook, I got a question for you?"

Narook looked up from his log book, "Sure, anything for you Mako."

Mako's friendly gaze turned serious, "I need to know how you need my father."

The chef rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Jeez, that's kind of a loaded question."

"Please I just want to know about his professional life."

"Alright, well let's go find a seat." Narook led them over to an secluded area of the restaurant away from all the other patrons. "Well, let's start from the beginning. I first met your father when he was just beginning to study law at Republic City University. He met your mother not long after moving to the city. I remember every night after they were done with school, they would come down and the three of us would talk for hours on end. After graduating your father got into politics and he and your mother had you and Bolin. They stopped coming by as much because they were so busy with having a family, but I did eventually get to meet you and Bolin. 'Course you and him were too young to remember this at the time."

"Do you know exactly what my dad did in politics?"

Narook scratched the top of his head, "No, can't say I do. I know he was very radical and wanted to change the city a lot, but he was mostly a background politician so the public didn't get to hear much about his work. You could try going to the library, I'm sure that they would have a lot of information on him."

Mako stood to leave, "Thanks, it means a lot Narook."

"No problem, but I am curious. Why the sudden interest?"

"I just want to find out exactly who my father was." Mako left the restaurant, leaving Narook very perplexed at his cryptic message.

* * *

It did not take long for Mako to reach the library, and once he did, he brought every book he could find on politics to a table.

Every single book seemed to say the same thing though. His father was a part of a subsidiary council that decided on smaller issues that the Republic City Council didn't have the time to decide on. Mako was not satisfied with these brief mentions however. _Narook had said he had been radical, wanting to change the city. Well I see none of that in here._

He grabbed the last book in the pile of unread material and began thumbing through it. This particular book actually went into more detail about each member of the council that his father was a part of. The book described Mako's father as someone who was obsessed with safety in the workplace. Apparently, the field that he made the biggest splash was in pro-bending.

Mako decided to dig deeper into this and went to find a book on the history of pro-bending. This book took no time at all to find and Mako was quickly back at his table reading. The book stated that pro-bending was based off the popular Earth Kingdom sport Earth Rumble. Due to the violent nature of that sport, pro-bending too started off as nothing more than just an all out duel of the elements. Avatar Aang happened to be in Republic City at the time of the sport's inception and decided to attend one of the very first games.

Upon seeing the violent nature of the sport, Avatar Aang appointed councilman Sokka to come up with a committee to legitimatize the sport. The committee managed to come up with the basic rules and that was when pro-bending began gaining popularity. One of the first rules that was set in place was that there could be no betting on official pro-bending matches. The committee was dead set against betting in fears that it would lead to various crime organizations threatening the players to lose a game on purpose.

After the new rules came into play, several crime lords collaborated to form an underground circuit for pro-bending. This underground sport had no rules and anyone could bet on them. The nefarious under belly of the popular sport continued to thrive for many years before Mako's dad, Hiro, and his partner, Noatak, decided to step in and make a change.

Hiro sought to make all underground pro-bending illegal and his goal was almost fully realized ten years ago. He had all the support from the police and city council, and soon the underground sport would be dead.

Hiro and Mako's mother, Airi, had been murdered after a party that was celebrating the near extinction of the underground circuit.

Everyone thought that Noatak would continue fighting in Hiro's army and it still seemed like the sport was on its last legs. However, a mere one day after the death of Hiro, newly appointed councilman Tarrlok cut all funding of Hiro's project. Tarrlok had said that the city had no money to spent on such a ridiculous endeavor like stopping an underground sport. Noatak fought to keep the project alive, but without the help of Hiro it eventually withered away. Noatak faded into obscurity after the failure.

Without Hiro around, the crime lords managed to build the infamous sport back to its former glory and the police now do not have the time or money to try to stop it.

Mako flipped through the rest of the pages quickly. _That's it? There has to be more, they never even bothered figuring out who killed my father. _He looked up at the clock and decided he had done enough research for one day. He shambled home slowly with a lot more questions in his mind than before he began his adventure.

* * *

AN: Ok, I'm not even gonna bother explaining why I wasn't updating. I'll leave it at this: I was lazy. That being said I now have this story completely mapped in my head so be expecting daily updates once more.

Anyway, onto this chapter…. yeah I'm not gonna say a word about anything. It is up to you guys to figure it out. As always I'm happy to read other people's theories. Thanks to those who read/review and please enjoy this chapter of Something Worth Fighting For.

P.S. I don't think too many people were thinking that Mako's dad was gonna be that politician I mentioned back in chapter 12.


	16. Knowledge Sharing

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Legend of Korra**

Bolin had led Korra back to his shared apartment after Mako had left them at the pier. After giving her the "grand" tour, which only consisted of showing the two brothers' bedrooms and the kitchen combined living room.

Currently they were sitting on the well-worn sofa, talking about random events. Korra was fiddling with her hair nervously. By the way she was squirming and looking around, it was clearly evident that she was not paying attention to whatever Bolin was saying. He seemed to notice her discomfort about halfway through his story and halted his tale, "What's wrong Korra?"

She was staring out in space, but the sound of her name brought her back to this world, "What? Oh, uh, yeah I'm fine. But, out of curiosity, does Mako always just disappear this often?"

Her worrying tone went unnoticed by Bolin, who just laughed at her comment, "No way, Mako never leaves me at home alone for more than an hour, he's such a mom. So I have no idea what has gotten into him lately."

"Oh, do you think he's ok?"

He picked up her tone this time, "Oh yeah, I'm sure he's fine. Mako can take care of himself."

Before she could respond the door creaked open and Mako walked in. He waved to Korra and Bolin before taking the chair opposite them.

Korra's mood seemed to immediately improve upon his arrival, "So Mako, where were you?"

"Nowhere special."

She pouted at him, "Really? You're back to being all mysterious and what not? Come on, just tell us."

He sighed, getting ready to tell her no once more, but then he looked towards her and saw her pleading Polar-Dog eyes. His resolve melted after a few seconds, "Alright fine, if you must know I was just looking up some of my dad's history."

Bolin's jaw snapped down, "Are you serious! Oh my goodness, what did you find out?"

Mako couldn't deny his brother a chance to learn more about their parents so he caved once more, "I didn't find much, but what I did find was quite interesting. Our dad was apparently a politician who was trying to get underground pro-bending shut down. That's not the weird part though. He had a partner who helped him with his cause and it was Noatak, Hiroshi's assistant."

Bolin snapped his fingers, "Aha, I knew that guy looked familiar. I remember seeing him come by our house to see our dad once or twice when we were kids."

"Yeah, but why would he go from being a politician to someone's assistant? That doesn't make sense."

"Wait a minute, ASAMI!" The two brothers turned at Korra's outburst. "Don't you guys remember how she was talking about that politician that night she saved us? It was your dad she was talking about!"

Mako recovered the memory first, "Oh yeah, how do you think she knew so much about it anyway?"

"I don't know, maybe Noatak told her about it."

The firebender shook his head, "No, it doesn't all add up. Noatak should have been able to see some sort of family resemblance and said something to me and Bolin. Plus, Asami sure didn't seem to know him all that well."

The three of them began pondering once more before Korra seemed to have an idea, "Guys, I know this is kind of personal and all, but Asami said that the politician, your dad, died ten years ago. How exactly did he die?"

Bolin rubbed the back of his neck nervously and Mako looked sorrowfully out the window before speaking, "Well, my dad told us one day that the entire family was going to go to this big party in his honor. Bolin had gotten sick and had to stay home with a baby-sitter, so it was just our mom, dad and me going. I remember meeting a whole bunch of really stuffy people all wearing really fancy clothes. I was so young and didn't know the party was a big deal so I started complaining and my parents had to take me home early. On the walk back home we were attacked by a firebender. He said that he wanted all my parents' money, but that didn't seem to satisfy him. He caught them off guard and struck them both with lightening right in front of me. Then he just looked at me and laughed manically."

Mako was on the verge of tears by the time he chocked out the last few words so Korra came and put a comforting arm around his shoulders, "I'm so sorry guys, I had no idea. I hate to make you think about it, but don't you think it is a little suspicious how your dad was killed right before he almost got rid of the illegal pro-bending?"

Bolin sniffed to hold back tears, "I guess we never thought about it much, I mean we did just find out about his job right now."

"Something tells me their deaths weren't by coincidence, I think whoever killed them, did it on purpose. I also think that Noatak has something to do with it."

"What makes you think he was involved? He was our dad's partner." Mako replied.

"Well think about it, Bolin you said he came over your house when you were younger and he was probably pretty close to your dad, so why wouldn't he make sure that you two had a secure family to go to after their death."

Mako replied thoughtfully, "You know, if I remember correctly, I don't even think that Noatak was at their funeral."

Bolin twiddled his thumbs and spoke rather meekly, "You don't think Asami has anything to do with this, do you?"

"There is only one way to find out." Korra said cockily before her and Bolin began heading for the door.

Mako pulled them both back by their collars, "Hold on guys. First off, it is ten o'clock at night, second, do you think Asami will just admit to being involved if she is?" Korra and Bolin both nodded in understanding. "Good, now then, we are going to not do anything for now. But whenever we next see Asami we will have to try and observe her carefully to see if she gives anything away, but we have to act casual otherwise she will know something is up."

* * *

AN: Sorry for that abrupt ending, I just couldn't put on what's coming next onto this chapter. Alright here comes some shameless self promotion: chapter two of my other story The Deserted and Forgotten is up and I would really appreciate it if you guys checked it out. You can find it by going to my profile.

Anyway, I promise that will be the last time I promote that story on here. Umm, pretty straight forward chapter without much to say, so thank you to those who read/review and please enjoy.


	17. Gaining Confidence

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Legend of Korra**

The Fire Ferrets continued with their plan of action for the week and a half leading up to the championship tournament. It was a rather easy plan since, all they had to do was… nothing. Instead they focused on practicing for their first match against the Red Sands Rabaroos.

They seemed to be getting into a great rhythm and finally seemed to be working together as a real team.

"Oh man, the Rabaroos are so screwed tonight." Declared the ever confident Korra.

"Yeah, the whole league has got to watch out, cause the Fire Ferrets are on a roll." Bolin said while strolling up alongside Korra and giving her a triumphant high five.

Mako couldn't help but break out of his normally reserved shell and smiled at his teammates' enthusiasm.

They sat resting for another few moments before Bolin voiced the question that was on everyone's minds, "So do you think that Asami is going to be at the match tonight?"

"I think she will, I mean, how could she stay away from Mako's charming personality?" Korra responded with a playful wink aimed in Mako's direction.

Mako frowned at her, "What? I wasn't that big of a jerk."

"Actually Mako you kind of were, but that was probably just your broodiness showing through again."

"I don't brood." Mako crossed his arms rather indignantly.

"Sure you don't." She cooed at him.

"Whatever, let's just get back to practice." Mako got up to shoot some fireballs at the practice dummy.

Bolin patted Korra on the back, "Good job Korra, I think you are the first person ever to get the better of Mako."

* * *

The Fire Ferrets gathered in the center of the arena, the introductions had already taken place and they were just moments from the first match.

The Red Sands Rabaroos consisted of all female members. There was the team captain, Adi the firebender, then the waterbender, Umi, and finally their earthbender, Ula.

"Ladies and gentleman, this Shiro Shinobi coming at you live from the first match of the official pro-bending championship tournament of 170 ASC. The last time we saw the Red Sands Rabaroos, they barely squeaked by to get into this tournament. Speaking of barely squeaking by, on the other side of the field we have the rookie Fire Ferrets. In their last match, they held on by the skin of their teeth thanks to the miracle hat-trick knock-out by Mako, their team captain and firebender."

Korra turned towards Mako, "Hmm hat-trick? I like the sound of that, what about you Mr. Hat-trick?"

Mako just grunted in disgust to show his opinion.

_"DING!"_

The Fire Ferrets' game plan was to come out and attack each member of their own element on the other team. This plan seemed to be working quite well too, except for Korra.

Mako had started with two flame kicks aimed at Adi's midsection. The swift assault surprised her enough to have her backpedal into zone two. The game plan was to wait for everyone to push each of their opponents back one zone before they began their attack again, as to avoid any far range, energy sucking attacks. So Mako just began defending himself from whatever attacks Adi threw at him.

Bolin was handling himself quite admirably as well. He fired three quick discs at Ula's feet to knock her off balance. The first two she was able to dodge, but the third hit her on her left foot causing her to stumble forward. Bolin wasted no time and began delivering earth disc after earth disc aimed right at her chest. Ula punched through the first two, but the dust from the discs started clouding her vision and the third disc knocked her back into zone two, a few seconds after Adi had been sent back to the same zone.

Korra was having almost no success against Umi. Every water stream that Korra fired, Umi simply redirected at Korra or out of harms way. Mako and Bolin were still to preoccupied with their opponents and were counting on Korra to knock her adversary back before they could begin the assault again. After another unsuccessful assault, Umi had the nerve to smirk at Korra. Korra took this as a personal mission and was fuming. Her next punch was furiously thrown and, instead of water, a fireblast came rushing out. A surprised Umi had no time to react and she was forced back into zone three.

_"TWEEET!" _The referee's whistle halted all play. "Umm, uh foul, I think." All attention was turned to Korra, who innocently shrugged.

"Well, in all my years of broadcasting, I have never seen anything like that. The Fire Ferrets' waterbender, Korra, just firebended. Could this girl be the… yes I think she is… she is the Avatar!"

The announcer's exclamation was met with varying degree of surprise and awe. Finally, after a few minutes of deliberation, the head referee spoke, "We have determined the Avatar is allowed to compete, so long as she only bends one element. Her knockback does not count and since it is the end of the first round and no team advanced, we will have a tiebreaker."

The two teams gathered in the center, the Rabaroos under protest that Korra was allowed to compete. The ref flipped a coin in the air and it landed red side up, "Alright, Fire Ferrets, choose your element."

Mako wasted no time in responding, "We choose water."

Korra gaped at him, "Are you crazy? One of you guys should do it. I can't beat her."

Mako pulled her aside to whisper to her, "Korra, the only way you're going to get better is to put those moves that you learned to the test."

Korra nodded and stepped onto the center platform, opposite Umi. The platform raised and the two assumed bending positions.

_"DING!"_

Umi had gained confidence from their earlier confrontation and came at Korra vigorously with three quick water jabs. The attack left Korra teetering on the edge, waving her arms back and forth in an attempt to regain her balance. Umi sent what she thought would be the finishing blow at Korra. Korra brought her foot up and stopped the stream. She turned the water's momentum into her own and spun on one foot and brought the water slinging back at Umi. The speed of the attack surprised Umi and she was sent over the edge, giving the advantage to the Fire Ferrets.

The team celebrated their victory briefly before lining up for the next round.

_"DING!"_

Korra's tiebreaker victory inspired the Ferrets to play to new heights. Korra split her first stream and hit both Umi and Adi, knocking them both all the way back into the water. Bolin and Mako sent several fireballs and earth discs at Ula, who also fell under the pressure and dropped into the water below.

"Wow, what a stunning round. In no time at all the Fire Ferrets knocked all three of the Rabaroos out, securing the victory and their place in the next championship match. Until then, this has been Shiro Shinobi, signing off."

* * *

AN: So I finally have some action back in this story, it has been way too long. Other than that, nothing to say, please enjoy and thank you to those who read/review.

P.S. To the guest reviewer on the last chapter who said Mako is Batman, I can't believe you guessed it. I wasn't going to reveal that until the last chapter. (joking, in case you couldn't tell through text) I got quite a good laugh out of that review.


	18. Eavesdropping and Peeping

**DISCLAIMER: I don't won The Legend Of Korra**

The Fire Ferrets were congregated in the locker room, about ready to depart from their victory over the Red Sands Rabaroos. The door leading out into the rest of the arena creaked open and Asami poked her head in.

"Hey guys, great match." She said with a smile as she walked into the room.

Korra and Bolin waved in greeting while Mako just grunted.

Asami waved her hand nonchalantly, "Always glad to see you too, Mako. Anyway, I actually wanted to talk to you guys about something. You see, my dad was at tonight's match and he has an interesting proposition for you. He thinks that your team has got a chance at the finals and wants to provide sponsorship for the Fire Ferrets. He would pay for any sort of fees and all you guys have to do is wear new uniforms with the Future Industries' logo."

Korra and Bolin seemed ready to jump at such an opportunity, but Mako quickly dashed their hopes, "No thanks, we'll be fine."

Asami seemed quite surprised at his quick rejection at her generous offer, "Excuse me? Mako did you hear me right?"

"Yes, but apparently you didn't hear me, I said NO."

Asami glared at him and Bolin pushed Mako off to the side while calling over his shoulder, "Excuse us a second Asami," He turned back to his brother and spoke in a hushed tone, "Mako I know you don't like Asami, but think about this for a minute. If we didn't have to worry about any Pro-Bending costs then we would have more money to spend on ourselves. I'm begging you Mako, think of all the food we could buy!"

Mako put a hand on his anxious brother's shoulder, "I know Bo and I can assure this has nothing to do with Asami. I just can't accept that, it wouldn't be our money, we will pull through this and make our own success." Bolin nodded understandingly at Mako and the two turned back to the two girls. "Sorry Asami, but your dad will have to find another team to sponsor."

Asami prepared to pitch the sponsorship again, but the door opening interrupted her. Hiroshi's tall assistant, Noatak, strode purposefully into the small room. "Well done Fire Ferrets." He brought his hands together in a slow applause. "I was able to watch tonight's match from a luxury box and I was quite amazed at your display of bending."

Asami seemed quite confused over Noatak's sudden appearance, "I didn't see you in our luxury box, I thought you were at one of the factories?"

"Oh, I am an old friend of Shiro Shinobi's. He got me into his own personal box. Anyway that's not important right now." He turned to Mako and Bolin who were eyeing him suspiciously. "Now, congratulations were not the only reason why I came to see you. I don't know why I didn't notice when I first met you, but I used to know your father. When I saw you two performing, you were the spitting images of him, I'm still terribly sorry about losing him. I am glad to see you two are doing successful."

"Thanks a whole lot." Mako drawled out.

The awkward silence hung in the air for a few more moments before Noatak cleared his throat and bid them a good night.

"Grab you bags and follow me." Mako whispered to his two teammates before turning to address Asami, "Sorry Asami, but we have to go to... a practice."

All three stormed out of the room leaving behind Asami, who was perplexed at Mako's poor excuse and his sudden politeness.

Outside in the hallways Mako was practically running through the arena with Korra hot on his heels. Korra looked questioningly at Bolin before deciding to grab Mako's shoulder to stop him. "Mako where in the spirits' name are we going? We already passed the showers."

"We are following that Noatak guy, this is our best chance to learn some more about him. Think about it, there is no way he didn't recognize us before, he's up to something. He didn't come see us just to say hi, I guarantee it."

"Ok, well that makes sense, but do we have to be dressed in our uniforms and all sweaty? We'll stick out and he'll spot us immediately."

"No time, we have to leave now or we will lose him."

Before their disagreement could continue Mako spun and started to run to the front entrance of the Pro-Bending Arena. They spotted Noatak walking away from the bay towards downtown. They followed him through various turns and alleyways, and Noatak seemed to not notice their presence. He finally approached a closed restaurant, unlocked the door with a key from his pocket, and entered.

The trio watched from an alleyway nearby and Korra turned to Mako once Noatak went into the building, "Ok he's not going anywhere Mako, could we please change now? We were getting some strange looks on the way here."

"Sure, we can change in the two alleys across the street."

Mako grabbed his bag and walked into the other alley. Korra bent over to pick up her bag and noticed Bolin wasn't moving, "What's a matter Bolin? Aren't you going to get changed?"

"No thanks, changing in a dark alleyway downtown isn't exactly my idea of fun. Plus, I like all the attention I get when I wear this uniform."

Korra rolled her eyes and walked into the other alley. She realized she had made a mistake too late when she came face to face with a shirtless Mako.

"Oh, um... uh hi Mako." Korra sputtered out before awkwardly waving.

"Uhhh, hi?"

Korra soon came to the realization that she had no reason to be there and was just ogling Mako's bare chest at this point.

"Ok... well I'm gonna go." With that she spun on her heels and ran into the proper alley. She changed quickly and returned to the two brothers with her cheeks slightly flushed.

Bolin took notice immediately, "Hey Korra, what happened?" He gestured to her cheeks after his question. The comment sent Mako into a coughing fit while Korra's cheeks brightened and she looked everywhere except the two brothers. Their discomfort seemed to satisfy Bolin, "Ok guys, maybe we should go check out the building now?"

They both nodded their heads vigorously and the three snuck to the front of the building. Mako tried the door, but the knob held and they sneaked around to the side of the restaurant. There was no entrance, but there were sounds coming from the open window.

"No, no I'm sure it was them." A voice belonging to Noatak filled the air.

Another male's voice responded. "And the girl?"

"She is the Avatar, I saw her bend more than one element at a time myself." Korra stifled a gasp with her hand.

"Are they suspicious?"

"No, I wouldn't worry. The two brothers are just like their father."

* * *

AN: Ok, so time to explain my two week absence. For the first week, I was writing an extremely important paper for one of my classes. As for the second week, well I decided to write the rest of this story. That's right, I finished this story completely and I will be updating daily from here on out. The story will probably be another 20 to 30 chapters depending on how I split it up. I'm sorry about being gone for so long and not writing for either of my stories, but I can assure you that I'm back.

Anyway, nothing to explain for this chapter. Thanks to those who read/review and please enjoy.


	19. Dominating Distractions

Noatak and the stranger's conversation carried on for a few minutes later and upon hearing nothing of any value, the three teenagers retreated a safe distance from the building to talk.

"What do you think Noatak meant when he said that thing about our dad?" A very concerned Bolin asked.

"I don't know, bro. But we need to find out exactly who that other guy was, then maybe we will know a bit more about what they were talking about." Mako replied.

"Great, but how do you plan on finding out who he was? It's not like we can just waltz in there and ask him his name."

All three began pondering before Korra snapped her fingers victoriously a few moments later, "I got it, you guys can give me a boost up to the window and I can see in there. Let's hurry up though, I doubt their conversation is going to last much longer."

So the three teammates rushed back to the window. Mako and Bolin put their hands down and Korra put one foot in each of their hands. They hoisted her up to the open window.

"Guys, I need to be a bit higher." Korra squeaked out in a hushed tone.

The two brothers pushed her up another few inches, but were beginning to struggle under Korra's weight.

Bolin sneaked a peak at Korra and let out an exasperated sigh to see she was still a few inches short, "Seriously Korra? Could you be any shorter?"

"Shush, I'm almost there."

Bolin and Mako sapped the last of their strength and stood up on their tip-toes with their arms fully extended above their heads. Korra's eyes finally peered into the window. The room was dark, but Korra's eyes began adjusting and she could see a dark figure sitting behind a desk and another man standing in front of the desk. Korra squinted which allowed her to make out the figure of Noatak and... _*SLAM*._ Mako and Bolin's strength failed them and all three toppled to the floor.

"Who's there?" The stranger's voice rang through the air.

All three exchanged a knowing glance before picking themselves up and sprinting away from the building. They didn't stop running until they reached the brother's apartment and were safely inside.

Once they caught their breaths Korra walked over and promptly punched Bolin in the arm. "OW! What was that for?" He asked while rubbing his arm.

"That was for calling me short. I'm not short, everyone else is just too damn tall."

This earned a chuckle from Mako, "So, Korra what did you see?"

She rubbed the back of her neck and spoke sheepishly, "Well, I didn't see.. um much."

"Ugh, after all that? Really?"

"No, no, no, I mean I did see something, but it isn't much. The strange man that Noatak was talking about was wearing blue."

"Well, that doesn't help much, but it's something I guess." Mako tried to sound cheerful.

"Alright, so we are all in agreement that Noatak is up to something right?"

Bolin jumped into the conversation, "No doubt. Creepy meeting talking about us in the middle of the night, coming to talk to us after the game, and he knew our dad, there is no way that he isn't plotting something."

"Alright, so what do you think he is planning then?"

Bolin seemed to take Korra's question as encouragement to launch into his conspiracy theory that involved aliens, the Fire Nation, and somehow the entire collection of every single Earth Kingdom musician ever recorded. It was about halfway through his story that Mako trailed off up to the attic. Korra stopped Bolin a few minutes later and used her favorite excuse of finding a bathroom to sneak off and find Mako.

She found him sitting in the window of the upstairs bedroom, peering out towards the bay. His body was silhouetted from the bright lights of the city which made him difficult to spot and Korra almost passed the room off as empty. Her eyes eventually adjusted and she settled next to Mako, who sensed her presence and scooted over to make room.

Korra was immediately blown away with the sight, she had a clear view of Aang Memorial Island and Air Temple Island. The sky was so clear that she was even able to make out the sky bisons flying around the island.

"So what brings you here?" Mako's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, well I was just wondering where you went. Bolin's story was beginning to get a little ridiculous so I decided to come find you."

Mako chuckled lightly, "Yeah, Bolin has always come up these weird theories. Of course, in this case I don't think anything sounds too crazy. I mean what could that Noatak guy possibly want with us?"

"Not a clue, is that what you have been thinking about up here?"

"Kind of, I have been thinking more about my dad actually."

Korra heard his tone turn more personal and scooted closer to comfort him. "What about him? If you don't mind telling me."

"No, I suppose I need to talk to someone about him eventually. So you see, when I was younger and my parents used to be alive I always wanted to hang around my dad. He was a firebender like me and he always use to show me all these cool tricks and techniques. He even taught me how to bend lightning. Anyway, after my parents died I started to hate him. I blamed him for his death, which I now realize is ridiculous, and for Bolin and I having to live on our own. My attitude towards him stayed negative until finally Bolin and I moved in here. I finally began to see all the sacrifices he made and I started to appreciate him again. But tonight, after Noatak said that we were just like our father, I'm not sure what to think of him. I mean Noatak said it so negatively, what if it means my dad was some sort of a crook or a coward or something?"

Hearing Mako's turmoil broke Korra's heart and she slung her arm around his shoulder. "Oh Mako, I'm sure that's not true. That Noatak guy is nothing but a lowlife creep and I'm sure nothing he said is true."

"You really believe that?"

Korra nodded her head even though she was not entirely sure if she believed what she just said. She spent the next hour or so sitting with Mako comforting him and trying to get him to start thinking more positively. The two gave up on having a conversation and settled into a comfortable silence that lasted well into the night.

* * *

The week before their next match passed by quickly for the Fire Ferrets. The time they didn't spend practicing, the three were investigating Noatak and his mysterious friend. All their leads were dead-ends and they were just as stumped as they had been at the beginning of the week.

The distraction was beginning to really show in their final practice a few hours before their match. Their normal ferocity was missing and they just seemed to be going through the motions. At the time they simply brushed it off as nothing and set off on their preparations before the match.

Now, however, while awaiting for the moving platform to take them to the arena, the Fire Ferrets' minds were anywhere but on the upcoming match. The introductions occurred shortly after they were centered in the arena. They would be facing the Black Quarry Boar-q-pines who consisted of their team captain and earthbender, Chang, their waterbender, Shen, and their firebender, Pasang. The Boar-q-pines were the oldest team in the tournament and had previously won the championship tournament. It would prove to be a hard match even if the Fire Ferrets weren't distracted.

The two teams were lined up and just awaiting the starting bell.

_"DING!"_

The opposing team had the Fire Ferrets immediately on the ropes, literally. It seemed as if their plan was to divide and conquer the Fire Ferrets one by one.

Pasang shot a fireball to force Korra to her left and continued his assault until her back was pinned against the side ropes and she was struggling not to retreat.

Chang shot earth disc after earth disc at Mako which had him stumbling all the way back into zone three. Chang didn't stop there and continued to fire relentlessly at Mako.

Bolin was able to hold his own a bit better against Shen. Each one of his water streams Bolin was able to narrowly batting them way with an earth disc. The two stayed locked in battle until Chang noticed their struggle and shot an earth disc at the unsuspecting Bolin. The disc slammed hard into his ribs and he ricocheted into the ropes and fell back into zone two.

_"DING!"_

"Well, folks the Fire Ferrets rise to stardom may be coming to a close tonight. There appears to be something eating at them tonight and unless they fight through it they will be kissing their championship aspirations goodbye."

Mako pulled everyone together in a huddle in an attempt to distract from the crowd's murmuring, "Guys, I know we are distracted, but we have got to pull it together. Let's go at them hard and show up what we are made of."

Mako's speech seemed to spark the team out of their slumber and they lined up for the next match with vigor.

_"DING!"_

This round the Fire Ferrets matched the ferocity that the Boar-q-pines had during the first round, who apparently thought the Avatar and her teammates would just roll over and let them walk into victory.

Mako went after Chang by firing two quick fireballs aimed at his chest. Chang deflected the attacks with two discs, but the fire turned the earth to dust which began to obstruct Chang's view. Mako used this to his advantage and fired another fireball at Chang's feet. This knocked him off balance long enough for Mako to fire a volley of three shots each aimed at Chang's midsection. The first two cause a slight stumble and the third one outright knocked him out of the ring and into the water below.

Korra decided to take advantage of the rule that allowed waterbenders to aim at their opponents' heads. Her first three water streams were aimed directly at Pasang's forehead. The first hit him and he stumbled back slightly, but he was prepared for the next two attacks and simply ducked under them. Korra had been counting on this though and fired a quick jet stream aimed at his crouched form. He hardly had time to look surprised before the icy blast struck him and he went careening into the water.

Bolin realized he had an elemental advantage over Shen's waterbending. Bolin shot the earth discs with all his might and Shen's water shields couldn't take them. The discs ripped through the water and struck Shen right in the chest. He managed to withstand five of them before finally the sixth one sent him flying below the ring, securing the victory for the Fire Ferrets.

* * *

AN: Thanks for reading this chapter guys. I'm sorry about this getting out to you so late, but I really haven't had much time in front of my computer this weekend.

Anyway, in regards to this chapter, we got to have more of an insight into how Mako views his father. I believe that Mako would blame his parents for their death because of how difficult his life was after their death. Deep down he would know that it isn't really their fault, but it would be difficult for him to see this when he was younger and still struggling. I would love to hear what you guys think of this issue.

As far as the pro-bending match goes, I wanted to show that even thought the Fire Ferrets are good, they can still struggle at times. That being said they still haven't had to face any major adversity.

Alright, so that's it for now. I don't want to discuss the Noatak/stranger scene because I want you guys to come up with your own theories. Should be another chapter up tomorrow, until then, hope you guys enjoy. Also, if you notice any mistakes, please let me know. I was editing this chapter quickly while watching tv so there probably is.


	20. Fancy Conversations

Mako and Bolin sat on the steps outside the arena. The Fire Ferrets had made a plan to go out for a celebratory dinner and the two were waiting for Korra. They were enjoying the peaceful silence until one Sato heiress came strolling out of the pro-bending arena.

"Hey, it's two-thirds of the Fire Ferrets. What are you two doing out here?" Asami said cheerfully.

Bolin matched her enthusiasm in his response, "Hey Asami, we are waiting for Korra then we are going to go get something to eat. You're welcome to come along if you would like."

"I would love to, that is if it's alright with Mako?"

The attention turned on the silent firebender sitting at the edge of the stairs. "Yeah, it's fine by me." He said it more like a challenge to Asami.

"Well then, I guess we are all settled. Where were you guys planning on going?"

Bolin's eyes lit up, "Narook's Seaweed Noodlery!"Asami flashed a face of disgust that she attempted to cover up quickly, but Bolin noticed. "What's the matter?"

"Oh, it's just I'm not too big on Water Tribe food that's all."

"Well we will just go somewhere else then."

"No, no I don't want to be a fuss."

"Nonsense, where would you like to eat Asami?"

"Hmm, how about Kuang's Cuisine?"

Mako snorted indignantly, "Sorry we don't exactly fit in with the upper class of Kuang's."

Asami ignored Mako's snarky comment, "Don't worry about it, I know the owner. Plus I can get you guys some new clothes so you blend in better with the crowd. I'll even handle the bill."

Mako eyed her suspiciously, "Ok, I don't get it. Why the hell are you trying to be so generous towards us? We're not some charity case."

Asami glared after his insinuation, "I never said you guys were!" She took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Listen Mako, I know that you don't like me very much, but just give me a chance and I'll prove you wrong. I promise you I'm not just showing off my wealth to you guys."

Mako's expression softened considerably as he thought of Asami's proposition, "Alright, deal. Who knows, maybe I'll actually have some fun." He said the last bit with a growing smile and the mood lightened greatly afterwards.

They continued their casual conversation before Korra emerged from the arena a few minutes later. They informed her of their dinner plans and the four set off in the direction of the restaurant.

The group made a stop at a clothing store that Mako described as snooty. That being said, the three Fire Ferrets knew they needed fancier clothes to get inside the restaurant so they went along with Asami's plan.

Mako and Bolin were fitted and dressed with some simple black suits that they couldn't help but adjust every few seconds because they were "uncomfortable." Asami came out dressed in a modest red dress that hugged her body tightly while Korra had the exact same dress except in blue. The girls' new outfits left the two brothers gaping which brought a slight blush on the girls' cheeks.

Asami purchased the new clothes and the four teens set off once more for Kuang's Cuisine. Upon arrival the doorman regarded the out of place Fire Ferrets with a curious gaze, but covered it up upon seeing the Sato heiress enter the door behind them. They were treated to a private dining room where they were waited on constantly. Korra and Bolin instantly fell in love and were taking advantage of the service by asking for just about anything they could think of. Mako was impressed, but still refused to concede victory to Asami.

Besides receiving a free dinner, Mako had another agenda in mind. Now that everyone had their meal in front of them, he determined now was the best time to launch his plan. "So Asami, tell me about your father's business?"

Asami smiled at his seemingly genuine question, "Sure Mako, so let's see... well my dad is the main reason why everyone has a Satomobile in this city. Thanks to his designs almost everyone can afford one in Republic City. He owns the most successful company in the city and continues to make inventions that help a lot of people."

Mako nodded his head as she told her story, "I see, so out of curiosity, how does your dad's assistant fit into his company? I mean he does seem pretty high up there in the company."

"Yeah, he came to the company about eight years ago when I was ten. At the time, Future Industries wasn't doing that well. We were really struggling to reach the people and weren't selling anything. Noatak came to us and was able to really market the company and skyrocket the sales. He has been my father's right hand ever since."

"Oh really, how exactly did he market Future Industries so well?"

"Hmm, I'm not really sure, but I think it has to do with the connections he had back at his old job."

"So what was his previous job?"

Asami was beginning to grow curious as to why Mako was asking these weird question, but was not going to halt their only pleasant conversation by saying something about it. "I think he was some sort of politician, I'm not really too sure."

"Hmm, so how well do you know Noatak anyway? What is he like?"

"I don't exactly know the guy actually. He is pretty secretive and is one of the few staff members that doesn't live on the Sato estate."

"Does he normally go to pro-bending matches?"

"Actually... no. This was the first time that I have ever seen him at a match. I didn't even know he liked the sport or that he has a friend that owns a luxury box. Of course that guy has connections everywhere."

Mako decided to stop badgering Asami, "Sounds like an interesting guy."

The rest of dinner went over nicely and the four managed to get along nicely. They finished their dinner and returned to the pro-bending arena at which point Korra, Bolin, and Mako offered to return the expensive new clothes to Asami. However, she said they were complimentary and was on her way.

Korra almost set off for the ferry before Mako grabbed her hand and led her and Bolin into their attic apartment. "So guys, I managed to talk to Asami about Noatak while you two were busy making the waiters do your bidding." Korra and Bolin looked around guiltily. "Anyway, she doesn't seem to know anything about the guy so I'm beginning to doubt she is in on whatever is going on."

Bolin seized his opportunity to gloat, "See, I told you Mako. I knew there was no way such a beautiful, enchanting, wondrous, amazing, generous, gorgeous-"

Korra quickly grew sick of hearing the compliments, "Get to the point Bolin!"

"Right, right. Anyway, there is no way that Asami could be involved in that evil conspiracy."

Mako sighed, "Listen Bo, I know that you really want to believe Asami is completely innocent, but we still need to be careful around her. I'm not saying that she is guilty, but she may know more than she is letting on."

Bolin launched into another tirade of compliments in his attempt to defend Asami, at which point Mako led Korra out the door and headed to the port.

The two walked through the cool air of the harbor with Korra talking about her every day events on Air Temple Island, "Yeah, Tenzin doesn't seem to think that I'm patient enough yet to learn airbending. You think I'm patient, right Mako?"

He smiled nervously at her, "Uh, maybe you could improve your patience a little more."

Korra growled in response, "Humph, yeah whatever." She started playing with the hem of her dress. "So um, what did you think of that dinner tonight?"

Mako noticed her nervous tone, but couldn't figure out why she would feel this way. "It was pretty good, I mean it was a little hard fitting in with all those rich snobby people."

Korra nervously chuckled, "Yeah, can you believe Asami bought us these clothes, I didn't see the price, but I figure they have to be expensive."

"Mmmhmm, they're really great clothes."

"Yeah, so what do you think of my dress?" She stopped and twirled around playfully. Mako's glazed over expression was not lost on her and Korra smirked to herself.

"Oh... uh... well... um..." She allowed him to keep stammering for a few more moments before she grabbed his arm and led him to the ferry port.

The ferry arrived about two minutes after they got to the port. "Well I'll see you later, Korra." The still blushing Mako tried to escape as quickly as possible.

Korra thwarted his attempt by grabbing his arm once more. "Goodbye Mako." She didn't let go of his arm and checked over her shoulder to see if the ferry was still at the pier before she leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. He rubbed his cheek in surprise and by the time he looked up, Korra was already waving from the retreating ship.

He waved back and started on his walk back to his apartment, smiling and humming the whole way there.

* * *

AN: Thank you for reading this chapter and I hope you enjoyed. Really not much to say about this one, but I do have one thing to say.

Apparently someone has added this story to a community and I could not be more thankful for this. I am glad that my story was good enough to be featured on the community. Anyway, if the person who added my story could message me that would be great because I want to be able to give that person proper thanks.

Anywhos, thanks to those who read/review and I'll see you guys next time.


	21. Winning by a Hair

The week leading up to the Fire Ferrets' next match went as smoothly as possible. The team went all out during practices and stayed late coming up with various game plans. More importantly, they hadn't lost focus once.

Although they were still curious about who Noatak really was, Asami had attended every single one of their practices which helped ease their minds. She was always willing to talk and ended up telling them more about Noatak.

It turns out that he was from the Northern Water Tribe and came to Republic City when he was only a teenager. Other than that there really wasn't much else to know about him, he lived a seemingly normal life as far as Asami could tell.

Apparently he just worked several odd jobs before finally ending up with his job in politics. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary at all.

With their minds at ease they were able to focus and strategize for the semi-final match against the Bau Ling Buzzard Wasps. They entered the arena that night confident, poised, and ready.

* * *

"Hello ladies and gentleman, Shiro Shinobi coming at you live from the Pro-Bending Championships in Republic City. Tonight we will be bringing the two semi-final matches. First, the upcoming Fire Ferrets featuring the feisty Avatar Korra versus the ever steady Bau Ling Buzzard Wasps with their own firey female, Bian. Remember folks, after tonight we will know who will be competing for the championship title. Will it be the rookie Fire Ferrets who entered the tournament on talent alone and raised their play to elite with teamwork and perseverance? Or will the Buzzard Wasps be able to match that same level of intensity from last year that had them reach the championship match? Introductions are just a few moments away so don't go anywhere."

The lights focused in on the center platform where a suit wearing man emerged. The crowd slowly dimmed from a roar to an awaiting silence. "On the blue side of the field we have the Bau Ling Buzzard Wasps." The lights refocused on the approaching platform carrying the Wasps. "Their team captain, Isamu is a fierce waterbender. While Bian serves as the wily firebender. And rounding out the team is the sturdy earthbender, Ronin." The crowd erupted into a mixture of cheers and boos as the Buzzard Wasps waved around.

The lights dimmed once more and pointed at the man once again, "And on the red side of the arena, we have the Fire Ferrets. Their hard working team captain and firebender, Mako! His younger brother and earthbender, Bolin. And the amazingly competitive Avatar and waterbender, Korra!" The arena somehow surpassed the noise level set before as the two teams set up to start the match.

A mixture of snarls and insults were slung back and forth between them as they suffered through the eternal waiting for the starting bell.

_"DING!"_

The Fire Ferrets instantly launched the game plan they had been practicing all week. Bolin moved in front of Mako while Korra took her position behind him. The move initially confused the Buzzard Wasps, but they were quick to recover. Bian fired two quick fire blasts which Bolin was able to block with an earth disc. Ronin and Isamu were still getting their feel for the match and chose to stay on the defense.

This allowed the Fire Ferrets to turn their attention solely on Bian. She gulped nervously as she noticed three pairs of eyes on her. Bolin fired two earth discs then ducked, Mako fired a powerful fire blast over Bolin's crouched form then ducked himself, and finally Korra summoned a mighty water stream and sent it over both brothers.

Bian looked nervously at the quickly approaching attacks. She punched through the earth discs and prepped herself to dissipate the fire. The fire failed to reach her though as the water stream caught up with it and doused the flame. The sudden disappearance of flames caught Bian off guard and unprepared for the water. She took the brunt of the attack in her chest and was forced over the edge and into the water below.

"Ladies and gentleman, I have never seen anything like this before in all my years of announcing pro-bending. The Fire Ferrets have created a three headed bending monster that I'm not sure the Buzzard Wasps are capable of stopping. I'm not sure anyone can stop them actually, Ronin and Isamu look nervous."

Quick as a flash, Bolin shifted to the back, Mako to the front, and Korra to the middle of their line. Isamu and Ronin stayed in defensive stances, still trying to find a weakness in the offensive juggernaut.

Mako ducked down and shot out a fire ball as Korra whipped water just above his head. Their intended target was Ronin, who stood no chance and protected his face as the fire and water collided with him. He went careening over the edge and joined his teammate down below.

Isamu attempted to take advantage of the distraction by firing a jet stream of water at the Fire Ferrets. Bolin saw the attack coming though and raised four earth discs in defense. The water splashed off the discs and onto the court.

All eyes turned on Isamu whose in turn widened in fear.

_"DING!"_

"Well folks, I don't know if the Buzzard Wasps will be able to survive another round against the Fire Ferrets. Anything they have tried has been thwarted quickly and they are looking around dazed and confused. Let's watch the action unfold in the second round."

_"DING!"_

The Buzzard Wasps changed their plan of attack and decided to try to keep the Fire Ferrets from setting up their line through any means necessary. The Fire Ferrets were clearly unprepared for this and tried to set up the line even through the barrage.

Korra ran behind Mako, but a disc interrupted her path. She was tripped and tumbled into Bolin, who in turn was attempting to dodge a fireball. They fell over in a pile of limbs and could only watch helplessly as Isamu wiped them off the court with a water blast.

Mako could only roll his eyes at his teammates' inability to adapt on the fly. The flurry of elemental blasts soon followed their downfall. He jumped over the earth discs and blocked the water stream aimed at his head.

The firebender decided to not waste the opportunity and kicked out a fire stream. The flaming arc covered the entire side of the arena and the Buzzard Wasps raised their hands in defense. Their momentary blindness only served to further Mako's assault and he targeted their waterbender with two quick fire jabs. Isamu never saw it coming and he was sent over the edge.

Mako decided to not push his luck and fell back on the defensive. Natural talent was prevailing as neither of the opposing benders could land a hit on Mako. They relentlessly fired earth discs and fire balls alike towards Mako, trying to not allow him onto the offensive side again.

_"DING!"_

"Well it looks like we are headed to a tiebreaker. The Fire Ferrets looked out of sorts last round before their steadfast captain steadied the ship."

The players gathered round as the referee stepped forward with a two sided coin before flipping it into the air and catching it in his palm. The coin showed blue, "The Buzzard Wasps win the coin toss, choose your element."

The Buzzard Wasps looked around at each other before Isamu stepped forward, "We choose water."

Korra stepped forward with a confident smirk and the middle platform raised upwards.

_"DING!"_

Korra wasted no time at all and tackled Isamu around his waist. He attempted to throw her off, but could not rid himself of the clingy Avatar. He doused her with water yet still was losing ground. He was riding the edge before finally deciding to switch tactics.

Isamu grabbed Korra by her ponytail and threw her down. She grunted in pain and the two brothers screamed for a penalty while the referees just looked onward. Isamu grabbed Korra by the arms and tried to throw her out of the ring.

Korra refused to go down without a fight and kicked and fought against his grasp. Her struggles went for nothing though as Isamu casually threw her out of the ring at the feet of Mako and Bolin.

"Round two will go to the Buzzard Wasps. The Fire Ferrets are left throwing the arms up in despair as they await the phantom penalty. They'll have to put that behind them if they want to come out of this match victorious."

Mako and Bolin helped Korra to her feet and the gathered in a huddle, but not before she shot a dirty look at Isamu and the referees.

"Alright guys, we can't worry about it." Mako began in a confident voice, "We only need one round to make it to the final game. That's it. We win this game, I promise I'll do whatever you two have planned tonight. Just one more round. Let's do it."

They gathered back at the starting point and glared at their opponents.

_"DING!"_

The Buzzard Wasps were easily described in one word: tireless. They began the final round with a nonstop barrage against the Fire Ferrets. Bolin fell to the fire while Korra and Mako managed to stay standing against the discs and water, although they had fallen back to zone three.

There was only one zone separating them from a watery defeat and the Buzzard Wasps were buzzing with confidence. Korra and Mako exchanged a quick glance before they lined up in the familiar line. Mako stood in back with Korra taking the front.

They withstood another solid thirty seconds of constant assault before the Buzzard Wasps finally bent over in exhaustion. Ever the opportunists, Korra and Mako assaulted Ronin first. He had no time to react before the fire and water overtook him and he was sent into the water. They took no time to celebrate and each took on a bender.

"My, my, my how the tables have turned. The Fire Ferrets have come back from what was sure defeat to mount this comeback. Mako fires three fireballs at Bian, she falls back to her zone two. Korra sends an icy blast at Isamu's head, possibly a bit of revenge for his earlier hair pulling. And he falls all the way back into the water. Bian is now staring defeat point blank and Korra and Mako know it. The two rush forward and send matching blasts of fire and water right at the poor Buzzard Wasp. Aaaaaaand she's in the drink! Wow what a team! Mako and Korra have become quite a duo right before our eyes and have propelled the Fire Ferrets right into the championship match."

* * *

AN: Holy dang. What happened? Well, college sucks people. That is my only excuse. In fact, I'm putting another essay off just to put this out there.

In all honesty I have been focusing more on my other story (highly recommend and I posted two new chapters) but I'm finally back in the swing of things.

Anyway, this was a fun chapter. Lots of action and I really like how it turned out. Thanks for sticking it out guys and please enjoy.

Edit: Also in case you forgot, any random text in the middle of fighting is just the announcer speaking.


	22. Short Tempers

Korra and Mako met in an embrace at center court that was bordering on becoming intimate before Bolin came up and tackled them to the ground in a group hug. They stayed in a heap for a few seconds before heading back into the player's room.

Once there, they were met with the one sight they didn't want to see. Tahno.

"Hello there, Uh-vatar and friends." He drawled out. His team was already prepared for their match and were just awaiting the signal to move on the platform.

Korra was quick to respond, "What do you want Tahno?"

"Can't a guy just say hello? Sheesh. You would think that the Uh-vatar of all people would know to show a little decency and respect to the defending champions."

"You're only the defending champs because we haven't been in the tournament before this year."

"Yeah, I'm really shaking in my boots at some rookie team."

Bolin stepped forward now, "Hey, we beat you once already and can did it again. Or did you forget the smack down we put on you guys?"

"Please. You guys got lucky, plus we aren't playing underground anymore, so most of the stuff you did isn't even legal for our match. No picking up half the field this time Bolin."

The sudden realization that Tahno was right quieted Bolin, but Mako was quick to fill his place, "You talk as if your team is already in the finals. You still have to win this match, Tahno."

"These guys don't stand a chance tonight. They'll be a good warm-up for our match against you. Why don't you stick around to see how a champion performs. Maybe if you'd like Korra, I could give you some private lessons."

His not so subtle innuendo did not go unnoticed by Korra who reared her fist back preparing to strike. Mako caught her fist before she could even begin the punch, "Forget it Korra, he is just baiting you. If you punch him then we get disqualified."

Korra withdrew her fist, "Fine, I'll just have to beat your ass on the field next match."

Before he could retort the signal came and his team took their places on the platform, "I'll be looking forward to that, Uh-vatar." The platform began descending towards the court and out of hearing distance.

Korra glared after them, "God that guy is such a creep."

"Don't let him get to you, that's what he wants to have happen." Mako reassured her. "Now then, let's watch some of their match, it might help us game plan for who we are facing."

The three gathered at the railing and awaited the match's start. Once the match did start they were not thrilled with what they saw. Tahno's team absolutely destroyed the other team. They lasted maybe thirty seconds before getting knocked out. The Wolfbats moved as one and covered all their weaknesses.

The Fire Ferrets suddenly felt scared.

* * *

AN: Sorry for the really short chapter, but it is the best way to split it so there isn't too much happening in the next one. Not much to say about this one, so thanks to those who read/review and please enjoy. Also sorry about this not coming out yesterday, FanFiction refused to work on my computer though so I couldn't post it.


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